You Can't Deny What the Heart Wants
by XtremeMNCowgirl
Summary: Randy Orton has never stopped loving his ex-wife. When he runs into her while dining out with his friends, he can't get her out of his mind. He knows that he has turned his life around, but everyone knows that you can't deny what the heart wants.
1. Chapter 1

**THANK YOU for checking this out. I do not own any of the WWE superstars that are referenced, and Miranda is all mine. I do not follow timelines perfectly, please bear with me. Again, thank you for reading this and PLEASE read and review!**

"Dude, do you wanna go to dinner with John and I," Brock asked. "We're going to go and catch up."

Randy smiled, "Sure. Let me get changed."

A few minutes later Randy emerged with nice clothes on just like the rest of the guys. "Alright, let's go."

And the four of them headed out. They decided to go to a very nice steakhouse in downtown St. Louis. Now that most of them weren't big partiers anymore, they liked to have a nice dinner after Raw.

They were seated and got busy talking. Randy happened to notice the hostess seating a couple. When he looked, he saw that the couple was a nice dressed guy and his ex-wife Miranda.

Miranda had been the love of his life. But because of the drinking and the drugs and his cheating, he wound up losing her to a painful divorce. Now he was straightened out and sober, but he had lost track of her. And here she was, on a date with some guy.

"Guys, look it's Miranda." He said quietly.

They took turns looking, trying to not be too obvious. They all knew it was her. They also knew that Randy had never forgiven himself for ruining his marriage. She was the only woman he had ever truly loved.

"Randy, I'm sorry." John said cautiously. He knew just how much losing Miranda devastated him. Granted it did finally scare him sober, but it still messed Randy up.

Brock grinned, "Want me to drag him out of here and fuck him up real bad?"

Randy laughed, "Nah…but I'm gonna talk to her. She always goes to the bathroom after ordering an appetizer. Just like clockwork."

Sure enough, shortly thereafter, she excused herself and headed to the bathroom. Randy quickly got up and headed outside of the ladies' room.

When she walked out, in a very low tone he said, "Hi Carebear."

Miranda jumped and turned to face him, but she couldn't hide herself blushing a bit. "Nobody calls me that anymore. What are you doing here?"

"We're in town for a show. What are you doing here with that guy?" Randy asked as he took a step closer to her. "Man, you look great."

Miranda stood there in total shock. Randy's looks had changed so much. The last time she had seen him was at their divorce hearing. He had hair back then and his face still looked babyish. Now he had a chiseled look to his face, and he was bald. He was wearing a black sport coat over a white button-down shirt with black slacks. "Thanks. You look good too."

"Does he mean anything to you?" Randy asked.

"I don't think that's any of your concern." Miranda replied sternly. "And I have to get back to him."

"Can I at least get your number? I wanna talk and catch up sometime." Randy said softly.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Miranda said shaking her head. "I've gotta go."

Randy reached out and lightly grabbed her by the arm, "Look. I know we parted on bad terms. But I'm cleaned up now. No drugs, I only drink on occasion and I quit smoking. I'm not the guy I turned into. Please, have dinner with me…just once."

"Wow, that's really great Randy. I'm proud of you. But, I can't." Miranda replied. "It was good seeing you." And she began to walk away.

"Carebear…please. I know I screwed up. Just please, one dinner. Hear me out. I want to know what you've been up to." Randy said sincerely. The look on his face was absolutely heartbreaking.

Miranda shook her head, "Randy. I'm sorry. I've been seeing Christopher for awhile now. I can't just drop everything because you are in town for a day."

Randy reached out and took her hand, "Miranda Caroline Orton, I still love you. I've never stopped. I know that I ruined everything but you were my best friend. You were there for me and believed in me when no one else did. Now please Ran….one dinner with me?"

Miranda looked at him with tears in her eyes, "It's Miranda Caroline Jewell now. And you don't know what I went through after our divorce. I have to go. It was really good seeing you." And she turned to walk away.

Randy watched her walk back over to her table and sit down. She dabbed at her eyes with a napkin when her date wasn't watching. He shook his head and walked back to his table with the guys.

"Well…did you get a number?" Brock asked. "Or should I go beat the hell out of him?"

John took one look at Randy's face. "Is that her new guy?"

Randy nodded.

"If you really want her to give you a shot, and you really want to be back in her life, you're just going to have to not give up and show her you're serious. You worked really hard to get your life back on track. Here's your chance to show her." John replied.

Brock nodded, "Yeah, John's right."

Randy thought about it. "Well, this proves she still lives in St. Louis. Maybe my mom will know how to find her and I can show up and prove to her that I mean it."

"Good call." John replied with a smile.

"And, I'm going to show her that I'm dead serious about this. I want her back in my life." Randy said seriously.

The food arrived at their table and the guys began to eat. They talked about what's been going on with each of them. Brock was retiring from the UFC and John was busy preparing to take on the Rock at WrestleMania. Randy tried, but he could only stare across the restaurant at his ex-wife, the love of his life, having dinner with another guy.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Randy showed up at his parents' house. "Yesterday, I ran into Miranda." He said to his mom and dad.

"Really? How's she doing? I haven't seen her in awhile." Her mom replied.

"The one that got away." His dad said as he got up to pour himself another cup of coffee. "She's been seeing the Gilmore boy."

"Yeah, she was out with him last night." Randy grumbled. "You know damn well I'm SO much better for her then he is."

Elaine looked at Randy, "Miranda has changed a lot. She's focused on her life. And you're still busy with wrestling and you're on the road a lot. I just really think you need to not only take your own wants into consideration but also think about hers."

"I need to see her to talk to her. I want to know about what she's been up to. I want her to know how much I've changed." Randy replied. "Do you know where to find her?"

"Well, she's been working at the chiropractor's office up on Fifth and Main Street. Why don't you go and check it out?" Bob said to Randy. "It never hurts."

Elaine shot Bob a look. She knew Randy loved Miranda, but she didn't want him to interfere with Miranda's new life.

Randy got up and hugged and kissed his parents and headed out. He went and picked up a small bouquet of really pretty flowers and headed to the chiropractor's office.

Miranda was busy in the office. She was folding gowns in the back when she heard the door open. She knew there was a patient coming in soon, so she walked up front. When she looked she stopped in her tracks.

There stood Randy, with a bouquet of flowers. "Hi Carebear. I saw these, and I thought of you."

Miranda couldn't help but smile, "Thanks, they're pretty. Why are you here? How did you know I was here?"

"I heard that the doctor was one of the best here in St. Louis and I thought I'd make an appointment." Randy replied with a smile.

"Now you know damn well you have your own chiropractor that you see." Miranda replied with a smirk. "So why are you really here?"

"Ran, I want to take you out to dinner. I want to talk to you, have a real conversation with you." Randy said as he leaned across the counter. "I'm not the same guy anymore."

Miranda sighed and took a step back, "Randy, you can't just waltz back in the door to my life after almost two years and expect me to be open arms. Life goes on. The world didn't stop because I had a broken heart."

"Carebear, I know that it didn't. I have my life on track and I think you'd be really proud. Please, let me take you out." Randy said to her.

"Fine, I'll tell you what. Why don't you pick me up at my place tonight at six p.m. and we'll go out to dinner." Miranda said to Randy.

Randy smiled, "Great. Where do you live?"

She gave him her address and her apartment number and he left as the next patient walked in. Miranda shook her head to herself, what was she thinking?

The rest of the day, all Miranda could think about was having dinner with Randy. There was so much that went so wrong at the end of their marriage, but yet her heart never fully let him go.

She left the office and headed to her apartment. She wasn't quite sure what to wear or what to think. It wasn't a date, it was just two friends having a bite to eat and catching up on what's been going on for the last two years.

Miranda picked out a dark purple dress and some silver heels. She pulled her dark brown hair out of the messy bun she wore at work and let her hair fall around her shoulders. As she touched up her make-up the buzzer went off.

She let Randy in. Randy looked around the apartment. It was definitely a reflection of her. She had a very laid-back vibe about her. "Your place is very nice."

"Thanks! I appreciate it. I've worked really hard on it." Miranda replied. "Let me just grab my purse and we can go." As she walked away to grab her purse all she could think about was how great Randy looked.

Randy looked around at the pictures on the walls and sighed. God he missed her. And she looked so great tonight.

Miranda walked out and smiled, "Ok, let's go."

Randy held his arm out to her, "Let's go."

Miranda walked past him as he closed the door. She locked it and walked with him. As they got to his Hummer H2 she grinned. "I can't believe you still have this."

"My baby? Why would I get rid of this?" Randy said with a smirk.

"Yup, I knew it. There's the old Randy I knew." Miranda laughed.

"Why didn't you take anything when we divorced?" Randy asked. "You loved your Beemer."

"I loved being married too. But that didn't work in my favor either. I wanted you to know that I wasn't married to you because you were a wrestler or because you were rich. I married you, the boy I dated in high school, the man I dedicated my life to. So when you chose the other girls and the partying, I gave you the chance to get cleaned up and to stay faithful to me. You didn't want to change your ways, you told me to my face that you weren't going to get cleaned up and if I didn't like it I needed to leave. So I did. And I didn't want to take anything with me. I left the house, the car, everything. You tried to tell the judge to give me spousal support and I refused. Then I moved and made sure my contact information was unlisted. I needed to start my life from the ground up." Miranda advised. "So I did. I went back to school and worked full-time. Now I'm an office manager at the chiropractic office."

"Wow Ran, that's really great. I'm proud of you. I know that I made a mess of things when we were married. I totally took advantage of you and I took your love for granted. I let all of the fame get to my head. I never meant to hurt you. The divorce becoming final was my wake-up call. I always thought you would call it all off before it became final. But, that never happened and then I got the papers. I lost it. I had a total breakdown and I almost lost my job. I went into rehab and got the help I needed. I tried to call you but the number was disconnected. I asked my parents about you but they wouldn't say anything. I went back to work and tried to put my life back together, but I never stopped loving you." Randy confessed.

Miranda looked over at him, "What did you say?"

Randy pulled into a parking spot at the restaurant. Then he turned and looked her in the eye, "I said I never stopped loving you. Miranda, you are my soul mate. You know me better than anybody ever will."

Miranda turned and looked out her window. Hearing those words shook her to the core. She had dreamed so long for him to say those words…but now he was and she didn't know if she was ready for it. Now she was dating Christopher and life was stable. For the first time in a long time it was stable and constant.

"Let's go eat." Randy said as he opened his door. He wanted to try and lighten up the mood.

Miranda got out of the Hummer and walked to the sidewalk. Randy held his arm out to her and she took it hesitantly.

They were seated at a table that was close to the fireplace. It was a very nice restaurant. "So, what else have you been up to?" Miranda said to Randy. "I see you shaved your head."

Randy nodded, "Yup, I sure did. I also got the tattoo sleeves that I wanted to get done."

"Wow, really?" Miranda questioned.

"Yup, I had them done when I got out of rehab." Randy replied.

Miranda smiled, "Randy, I'm really proud of you for getting yourself cleaned up. That was what you needed."

Randy smiled, "Yeah, I was out of control there for awhile. I had pretty much alienated everyone around me. Once I got out of rehab, it took a lot of work to rebuild the bridges I had broken."

Miranda nodded, "I'm sure it did. But I bet you're sure glad you did."

"Most definitely. I just wish I would have been able to get my head out of my ass earlier." Then he picked up his glass of wine and held it up, "To getting to know each other again."

Miranda smiled and clinked glasses with him, "To getting to know each other again."

And they both took a drink. "So, are you allowed to drink wine Randy?" Miranda asked.

Randy smiled, "Yes, I know how to drink in moderation. I just lay off of the pain killers, street drugs and what not."

Miranda smirked and shook her head, "Smart ass."

"As always." He said winking at her.

Soon the awkwardness was fading away and they were laughing and catching up on old times and new. Before they knew it they were ordering a second bottle of wine and talking about high school and when they first moved to Louisville for Randy to go to OVW.

"Do you remember when you and I went to that karaoke bar with John and Shelton and Brock and Dave and we sang those Grease songs?" Miranda said with a laugh. "Who would have thought that you would still be wrestling today with all of those guys?"

Randy laughed, "Gee, did you completely stop watching? Half those guys don't wrestle anymore. Now it's only John and I. Brock went to the UFC and just retired. Dave went to MMA. Shelton is wrestling for the independent circuit."

"Shut up, really? Wow." Miranda said surprised as she took another drink of wine. "This food was awesome."

"Remember when we used to go to the old drive-in on Tuesday nights? I'd come home from being on the road and we'd bring a blanket and snacks and we'd smuggle in wine and we'd go chill on the old pull-out sofa in the back of the old pick-up?" Randy brought up laughing.

"Yes! Oh my God that was so much fun!" Miranda squealed.

"God I've missed your laugh." Randy said with a big smile.

Miranda bit her bottom lip, "Yeah, I've missed seeing you in a good mood and being playful. Towards the end it just got so dark and so negative all the time."

Randy nodded, "I know. I'm so sorry that it got so bad. I treated you so badly."

Miranda nodded, "Between the drugs and the girls…I couldn't take it anymore."

"You took it for so long. What was the icing on the cake? I can't recall." Randy said as he sat up straight.

Miranda swallowed hard, "The paternity papers you were served with when we had our families over for dinner. You had swore to me up and down that you hadn't been with any other girls in almost six months, but the papers were from someone who was only 2 months pregnant."

"The baby wasn't mine." Randy interjected.

"But you'd obviously been with her." Miranda shot back. "And I couldn't take the humiliation anymore. So I told you that either you clean up and go get help and promise me no more women and you told me if I didn't like it I could leave, so I did. Just like I told you in your truck on the way here."

Randy nodded, "I was so fucked up. I'm so sorry that I hurt you so badly. I wish I could turn back time and fix things. How are your parents?"

Miranda laughed, "They're good. They still ask me about you all the time. You know you're the son they never had."

Randy smirked that cocky smirk, "Do they like Christopher?"

She shot him a look, "Again, I don't know how this is your business."

"Let's get out of here. We'll grab Dairy Queen and go back to your place and watch a movie." Randy said as he handed his credit card to the waitress.

Miranda took a deep breath, "Randy, we can't watch movies at my place."

"No worries, we can watch a movie at my place. It is closer to here than your place is." Randy began to say when Miranda held up her hand.

"Randy, this isn't a date. You can't come to my place and watch movies and use the movie as an excuse to snuggle which will turn into kissing. I'm seeing someone."

Randy rolled his eyes, "Ok, I know that you're seeing Christopher Gillmore, but what could you possible see in him?"

Miranda looked at him "Quite a bit thank you. What did you see in bimbo 1,2 and 3? What about what's her face diva you were caught with? Or the chick who sent you the paternity test?"

"She told me she could pleasure me better than you could and I had to defend your honor." Randy shot back.

Miranda slammed her hand on the table, "That's the WORST excuse I've ever heard. I can't do this. I'm not going to sit here and do this."

They silently walked back to Randy's Hummer. Finally Randy cleared his throat, "I'm sorry I started the fight back there. You're right, it's not my business. I just don't get what you could possibly see in Christopher Gillmore."

"Christopher is a very nice guy. And he has a stable career, he's home on the weekend, and he has NEVER told me that he can't be seen in public with me because I don't have a body like a diva." Miranda replied sternly.

Randy sighed, that was another low point in their marriage. Miranda has never had the body of a diva. She was average all through high school, and right after they got married, Miranda gained a little bit of weight. She was in a size 14 and he had given her a really hard time about her weight. At one point she was supposed to go out with Randy for a weekend set of house shows and then go with to Raw. He had gotten high and after she fought with him about being high he told her that he couldn't admit to being married to her because she looked like she weighed more than him. "I told you I was sorry about that. I love you for who you are. I don't care what size you are."

"Evolution Randy couldn't stand the size I am." Miranda said harshly.

"Evolution Randy went to rehab and realized he was an asshole." He grumbled.

Miranda reached over and patted his hand, "Look, I know it was the past. I wasn't trying to stir the pot, I was just telling you that yes we have a good relationship."

They pulled into the parking lot of Miranda's apartment building. "So, you seriously don't want me to walk you upstairs?"

Miranda turned in her seat to face him, "Randy, listen to me. You run into me at a restaurant and we went out to dinner and now you have the closure that you needed. Tomorrow you're going to wake up, pack your stuff and get ready to fly out for your house shows this weekend and you're going to move on with your life and forget all about me. We'll both go back to our lives and…"

Randy leaned over and kissed her to shut her up. He cupped her head in his hand and kissed her with every emotion he was feeling.

At first Miranda started to pull away, but then her guard dropped and she allowed him to kiss her. She even found herself kissing him back.

The emotions that were running through the both of them were so overwhelming. Tears sprung to Miranda's eyes and she finally pulled back. "I have to go."

Randy looked at her with a pleading look in his eyes, "Carebear please, I never stopped loving you, and I can tell that you still feel something for me. Please give me a chance to show you the man I really am."

Miranda's eyes were glazed over with tears, "Randy…I'm seeing someone. And you have to respect that. If you're ok with being just friends, then I'll be friends. But I'm trying to see what I would have with Christopher and I need that."

Randy nodded, "I understand. And I can respect that. If all we can be is friends, then I would love to be friends. Do you still remember my number? I haven't changed it. Maybe you'll text me or call me?"

Miranda nodded, "I'll text you tomorrow, ok? I've gotta get to bed, I have to work in the morning."

"That would be great. Good night Ran."

Miranda smiled a bit, "Good night Randy." And she turned and quickly walked into her apartment building. The minute she set foot inside her apartment she broke down in tears. She had worked so hard to move on, and now Randy was here, trying to be in her life and she didn't know what to make of it.

Randy watched her walk into the building and drove off. All he could think about was how much he missed her and how much he wanted her back in his life. And if that meant taking baby steps to show her that he truly had changed and deserved her again, then so be it.

**Please read and review! What do you think? Will Miranda actually text him? Or will she focus on her relationship with Christopher? Is Randy going to take baby steps? **


	3. Chapter 3

**THANK YOU for the great feedback and for giving this story a chance! I really appreciate it! **

Miranda spent the day trying to keep Randy off of her mind as much as possible. After work, she drove over to Christopher's house to visit him.

When she walked in and called for him, he replied back "I'm in the den on a conference call. I'll be out in a few minutes."

So she made herself at home. She poured herself a glass of wine and hopped up on the kitchen counter.

Christopher finally walked out and frowned, "I thought I told you not to sit up there."

"And I thought I told you work ends at six." She replied with a smile.

He kissed her and then pulled her down. "How was your day?"

Miranda nodded, "It was good. Slow, but good. What about you?"

Chris took her glass of wine out of her hand and took a drink, "It was very busy. We won a few more clients today. So Charlie and I are flying out tomorrow to spend the weekend with one of them."

"The whole weekend?" She asked.

"Yeah, we'll have to postpone brunch with the folks." Chris replied. "What are you going to do since I'll be gone?"

Miranda shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I'll be gone all of next weekend. Maybe I could tag along with you. I know you'll be busy during the day, but I could find something to do and then we can spend the night with each other?"

Christopher shook his head, "Nope, Charlie and I agreed on no extras. Just business."

Miranda tried not to look disappointed. "Ok, I guess not."

He kissed her cheek, "It's nothing personal. It's just that this client is very important and we don't want anything to go wrong. Relax. It's one weekend."

Miranda nodded, "So what are we going to do tonight?"

"Well, I figure we could go out to the Country Club and have dinner. Stay and have a few drinks. Then we could head back here and make sure we get a good nights' sleep." He said with a wink.

Miranda smiled, "I like the sounds of that."

So they headed to the country club. It was Chris's favorite place to spend time. His lifestyle was very different than what she had always been used to, but she was learning to adapt.

When they were in the car, the song "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad" by Def Leppard came on. Miranda rolled her eyes. Randy LOVED eighties hair bands and he used to sing this to her all the time. She reached over and turned it down.

"Hey, I like that song." Chris said as he reached to turn it up.

"I wanted to talk to you about something." Miranda said quickly. "Last night, I went out to dinner with an old friend."

"Ok, who?"

"Well…it was Randy. Randy Orton." She said hesitantly.

"As in your ex-husband?" Christopher replied sternly.

"Yeah, that's the one."

"What the hell did he want?" He replied.

"We bumped into each other. He wanted to have dinner and touch base and talk about the divorce." Miranda explained.

"Why? It's been final for awhile now."

"I know, but we were friends since we were babies. Our parents are still friends, and he hoped that since we've both grown up and moved on, maybe we could at least still be acquaintances without it being awkward. Especially since I'm in Liz's wedding and her fiancée is Randy's best friend." Miranda hoped she covered enough. But she couldn't bring herself to lie to him. She had been cheated on too many times so she wanted to be honest.

He grumbled to himself. He had hated Randy all through junior high and high school. When he started dating Miranda he couldn't believe he had hit the jackpot. Finally he spoke,"Yeah…I guess. But I must say, I don't know why you still keep in contact with anyone from that company."

"Because Liz is a good friend of mine. It's not her fault that Randy had issues." Miranda answered harshly. "Liz isn't even a wrestler. She's just marrying one."

Christopher shook his head. "Ugh…whatever. And you still want me to come along with you to this wedding?"

"Well yeah! Of course I do." Miranda replied with a laugh. "Why wouldn't I? I'm excited for you to meet some of my friends."

"Just making sure." He really didn't want to go with to this wedding. Chris could already picture a room full of heathens and steroid-riddled guys who were just dying to party hard. He was so glad that he had rescued Miranda from that god-awful lifestyle. He was trying like hell to get her away from all of her old friends. Especially the one from high school she still hung around with. God how he couldn't stand them.

She shook her head as she looked out of the window. Was telling Chris about seeing Randy a mistake? Maybe she shouldn't have said anything.

They got to the Country Club and were at least back on speaking terms again. They were seated and had a great conversation. After dinner they made their way to the bar in the club. They were seated with another financial adviser from Christopher's work and his wife.

After a few rounds of drinks, they decided to head back to the house. Miranda drove since Chris had a few more drinks than she did. Chris climbed into bed as Miranda went into the bathroom to get ready. When she walked out, he was fast asleep already.

The next morning she got up and kissed Christopher goodbye for the weekend and headed home. The office was closed on Fridays so she always had a three-day weekend. She just wasn't sure what she was going to do with her free time.

Miranda knew what she needed to do. She needed her best friend Kim to vent to. So she grabbed her phone and sent her a text. "Girl, I need to talk to somebody. Lunch at our place? Noon?"

Kim text back promptly, "Yup Yup! I'll get the table. What the hell is going on?"

"I can't tell you now, lunch."

Miranda spent the morning cleaning up the apartment and taking a long, hot bubble bath. She hadn't let Randy cross her mind the whole time she cleaned. But the minute she slipped into the bubble bath, her mind began to race.

"Was her life with Christopher as peachy as she made it sound? Her parents thought he was a snob. His parents didn't like her. He was a bit of a workaholic, but at least he spent time with her. They had their arguments, but nothing like when Randy was at his worst. But, did she need to keep in mind that Randy was not in his right mind when he was at his worst?" Her inner voice was running rampant. She needed it to be lunchtime so she could hash it out with Kim, her non-wrestling connected best friend.

Finally she walked into her favorite Chinese restaurant in St. Louis and found her best friend Kim sitting at their favorite booth.

"Ok girl, Mountain Dew on the rocks, our usuals are ordered and I'm ready for an explanation." Kim said with a smile.

"Oh my God…I have gotten myself into a mess and a half." Miranda said grabbing her soda and taking a long drink. "I went out to dinner a couple of nights ago."

"You got Christopher to eat somewhere other than the country club? Impressive!" Kim said surprised.

"I didn't have dinner with Christopher. I had dinner with Randy."

Kim practically spit out her Mountain Dew, "You WHAT? Randy as in Orton?"

Miranda nodded, "Yup, I ran into him when I was out with Chris. Then he showed up at my office and asked me out to dinner. So I reluctantly agreed."

"And…how did that go?"

"Well…we talked about the past. We talked about the divorce. Then he told me that he still loved me." Miranda confessed. "Then we finished dinner, talked about past and present. He drove me home, kissed me in the driveway and here I am trying to figure out what the hell I was thinking."

"Slow down…slow down. He said he still loved you? Does that mean he ever loved you in the first place? And what do you mean he kissed you. Do you mean he kissed you and you pulled back in disgust and slapped him or he kissed you and you let him OR that he kissed you and you kissed him back and now for some stupid reason you have memories flooding back to you?" Kim said skeptically.

"Oh Kim…you know he loved me at one point. And yes when it got bad it got REALLY bad, but I think that he always still loved me. Underneath the drugs and other women I still think his heart belonged to me. And when he kissed me I started to pull away, but then I melted and we kissed for a minute or two and then reality hit."

Kim shook her head, "Ok. So what are you thinking?"

"I'm not thinking anything at this point." Miranda replied. "I'm not thinking anything because I'm too busy drowning in everything. The first thoughts on my mind are how bad the end was. But then I think about how great it would be to see Randy in his clean and sober self. He was a great guy when he wasn't stoned and so over the top cocky that it was irritating."

"Randy was always cocky. But I know what you mean. When he joined forces with Evolution then his ego took over. As did the drugs and the other women."

"Do you think that he was with the other women to show off? Or was it because I'm not a perfect little trophy?" Miranda pondered as she took a bite of her cream cheese wonton.

"I think it was all of the above. His ego was so far gone that he felt he had to not only surround himself with hot women, but bed them also so nobody could one-up him." Kim replied. "I don't think he was able to fully separate his character and his reality. But it's not an excuse."

"Hell no it's not an excuse. I just…I don't know. I mean Chris and I have our problems, but I sure as hell couldn't tell Randy that or he'd run rampant with it. I want to be able to make this decision and feel confident about it. Right now, I'm not ready for him to be in my life like that again."

Kim took another drink of her soda, "Did you tell your parents?"

"Did I not just say I wanted to do this on my own? My parents LOVE Randy and HATE Chris. I mean, to them Chris is self-absorbed and obsessed with his money. He's always on a business trip here, there and everywhere. They think he's a total snob. When yes he's obsessed with the stock markets, and he is out of town for a few days every other week so he can check on his company in person. But, he's home almost every night, he's home on the weekends. He treats me decent."

Kim rolled her eyes, "And he's a nerd who doesn't know how to have any fun."

Miranda smirked, "Yes, he likes to stay home."

"Did you ever think that maybe Chris has reasons he won't go out with you in public besides to the country club?" Kim asked casually.

Miranda shrugged her shoulders and sighed, "I don't know. All I do know is that right now I'm determined to keep my distance from Randy and focus on Christopher."

"So did the two of you exchange phone numbers?" Kim inquired.

Miranda shook her head, "No. It's bad enough he now knows where I live. He hasn't changed his phone number, so I still have it memorized."

"Do you think it's a sign that you still have his number memorized after this long?"

"NO. I knew it for years, of course I'm going to remember it." Miranda blew her off. "Anyways, whose side are you on?"

The girls began to eat their Chinese food and laugh about other things that were going on. But in the back of her mind, she couldn't help but miss Randy and their old life just a little bit.

As they were getting ready to leave, Miranda grabbed Kim's arm, "Can I tell you something in the strictest of confidence?"

"Of course. What's up?"

"Do you think he's being honest? Do you think he's actually clean and sober like he says he is?" Miranda asked sincerely.

Kim looked at her and took a breath, "Well…as you know, I was by your side through the good and the bad in your marriage. And you should be able to look at him in the eyes and know if he is or not. You could always tell when he wasn't. And my dad battled addiction for many years, and I know what a toll it can take on a marriage and on a family. When he finally beat it, it was wonderful and I finally had the Dad I had dreamed of. So, when you looked at him, when you kissed him, was it the old Randy?"

Miranda's eyes filled with tears, and all she could do was nod.

"Then, be friends with him. If Christopher is truly fulfilling all of your wants and needs, don't throw a good thing away. But, remember that you are not banned from having friends. Just, keep your line drawn. You're never going to know if he's changed unless you get to know him again." Kim said patting her back. "Now, some of us have to work on Fridays, so I'll see you later." And she gave her a big hug. Then she hustled off.

Miranda got into her car and pondered, was her life everything she wanted with Christopher? Could she ever picture herself marrying him and having a family with him?

Before she knew it, she grabbed her phone and sent Randy a text, "So am I supposed to know that you've really changed?"

Randy was working out his match with Wade Barrett when he felt his cell phone vibrate. At first he blew it off thinking it was probably his dad or his brother. But then it dawned on him that there was a slight possibility of it being Miranda.

He pulled it out and read the text and couldn't help but smile. So he text back, "You're going to have to let me prove it to you…along with learning to trust me again."

"Gee…neither of those sound like they're in the cards anytime soon." She responded.

Randy finished up with Wade and then called her.

Miranda jumped when she grabbed her phone and saw his number come up on the display, she felt like she was doing something dangerous. Her heart raced as she stared at the phone, finally she hit the button, "Hello?"

"What are you doing this weekend?" Randy asked.

"Well hello to you too. I'm good thanks, how are you?" She replied sarcastically.

"Sorry, Hi Carebear, how are you? What are you up to this weekend?" Randy replied with a laugh.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because I was thinking you could fly out here and hang out for the weekend. Liz is out here with John for the weekend, we could all hang out and have a good time." Randy replied.

"And that's not going to be awkward? Me walking around and everyone asking who I am." She asked.

"No it won't be. I promise. I just want you to see that I have changed. Come on, we could go out after the show tonight, either hit a club with everyone or just you and I could hang out or just the four of us could hang out. It could be like old times." Randy tried to reason with her. He really wanted her to come out and see just how much he had changed.

"Randy, I don't know about this." She said hesitantly. "I don't know if this is a good idea."

"Don't worry about a thing. I'll book you a flight, you can fly into Chicago and come to the house show. Then we'll be travelling to Champaign, IL and from there we're headed to Terre Haute, IN. Then Raw is in Indianapolis."

"Slow down there, I work on Monday. I would have to fly home on Sunday." Miranda replied. What the hell was she thinking? But if Liz was going to be there, it would be nice to see her before the wedding.

"So…can I book you a flight?" Randy asked teasingly.

"Why am I doing this? Why am I on the phone with you?" Miranda asked him.

"Because you and I both know that deep down we belong together. And as much as you hate me for all of the horrible things I did to you, there's still a small flicker of hope and love inside your heart." Randy replied.

"Now I'm hanging up." Miranda said quickly. She needed to scream. How did he know how to get to her? WHY did she text him? WHY is she somewhat agreeing?

"Carebear wait, I'll text you a flight time. And I'll be waiting at the airport. If you want to, get on the flight."

"Fine." Was all she said and she hung up the phone.

A short time later the phone went off and she rolled her eyes. She knew what it was…it was flight information.

She paced back and forth, tried to busy herself doing whatever tedious tasks she could. She growled and grabbed her phone. Looked at the times and before she could argue with herself anymore, she headed to her room and packed a carry-on with her clothes and make-up.

As Miranda drove to the airport she went back and forth with her decision. She had her iPod plugged in, and all it played was Bryan Adams, AC/DC, Def Leppard, etc…Was it a sign?

As she parked her car and walked into the airport she stopped outside of the doors and sighed. Should she or shouldn't she? Turn around and walk away or just go, get it out of her system and come back home to focus on reality?

Miranda grabbed the door and hastily opened it and walked to the desk where she could identify herself and get her ticket. If she didn't do it, she'd drive herself crazy wondering what if.

**Did she make the right decision? What will the weekend hold? What do you guys think of Chris? Please read and review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**WOW! I am SO lucky to have great readers like you guys. THANK YOU! **

Miranda's plane ride was a short one, so she spent most of it just listening to her iPod and arguing with herself in her head. It wasn't like she left him because she didn't love him anymore. She always loved him…sometimes too much. Now she was left worrying that maybe part of him resented her for leaving when she did…at a time when he probably needed her the most. Did she give up too easy? Or was she right for doing what she did, when she did?

The landing call snapped her back to reality. She was about to land and be face-to-face with Randy again. Even though she had told herself it wouldn't happen. Miranda took a deep breath and collected her things.

As soon as she saw him, her stomach did but butterflies. God it was like being a schoolgirl all over again. There he was wearing a black tank-top, black sunglasses, a backwards baseball hat and jean shorts. He smiled as soon as he saw her and waved.

Miranda blushed and walked over to him. "Hi Randy."

Randy wrapped his arms around her and held her close. "Hey Carebear…thanks for coming out for the weekend."

Miranda nodded as she held him back. It was such an odd feeling running through her veins. Part of her was scared to death and the other part of her was excited and giddy.

He took her hand as they walked through the airport crowd. "Your sleeves did turn out nice." She said with a smile.

Randy grinned, "Thanks babe. Are you hungry? Liz wanted to know if we wanted to join them for a light dinner before the show."

Miranda nodded, "Sure, I'm starving. I only had Chinese food for lunch."

"Uh-oh…lunch with Kim, huh? Must have been gabbin' up a storm." Randy teased her.

"Ok, who DID you have lunch with?"

"Umm…uh…well…I had lunch with Kim, but still. You didn't know that for sure." She replied.

"Yeah…told ya."

Miranda laughed and stuck her tongue out at Randy. This was the kind of fun, playful, silly banter that she missed having. The ability to tease and have fun and be silly was completely non-existent with Chris. Chris's idea of teasing involved giving her crap if she went through a drive-thru for a meal. He refused to eat anything that came from any place that had a drive-thru window. Yes that included pizza and Subway.

They got to Randy's rental car and climbed in. Randy was still a gentleman and opened her door and put her bag in the backseat. "You know, you could have brought a suitcase if you wanted." He commented.

"I didn't bring anything fancy. Jeans, shirts, hoodies, underwear, socks, and bras." Miranda replied.

They began to head towards the arena. "It's been awhile since you've been on the road with me." Randy couldn't help but comment.

"Are you mad at me?" Miranda blurted out.

Randy looked over confused, "What?"

Miranda grimaced. Why did she do that? "I mean, do you resent me or are you mad at me because I walked away when you needed me the most?"

Randy pulled over into a parking lot. Then he turned to Miranda, "Carebear, I have never EVER held it against you that you left. I put you in a horrible position and I gave you an ultimatum and whether I was sober or high when I did it, bottom line is I did it. I wouldn't still love you if I was mad at you or if I held it against you."

Miranda nodded. "I just wondered. I had never really thought about it until I talked to Kim today. She was talking to me about when her dad sobered up and it got me thinking that maybe I hurt you and made your addiction worse…"

Randy put a finger to her lips, "I swear to you, there was NOTHING you could have done that would have made me worse or better. Did I flip and go drinking and get high after you left…yes. Did I go drinking and get high every night? Yes. No difference. The day our divorce was final, I went out drinking, got high, trashed a hotel room and almost lost my job. Everything combined, the divorce, almost losing my job, knowing that I had let everybody in my life down was what I needed to finally get my ass in rehab."

"Sorry, I just had to ask." Miranda said as she rubbed her forehead.

Randy turned her head to face him as he leaned over and kissed her sweetly, "God Carebear…your mind is just racing all sorts of shit isn't it?"

Miranda's heart began to race, "You have to stop that. I'm in a relationship."

"Yeah…yeah…I know. Christopher Gillmore…blah, blah blah…" Randy replied as he rolled his eyes. He began to drive again.

As the silence was becoming deafening Randy reached over and turned up the radio. "Do you still listen to all of that country shit?"

"Yes, do you still listen to all of that metal shit?" She replied with a smirk.

"Just gotta be a smartass don'cha?" Randy said winking at her.

They pulled into the arena parking garage and got out. Randy reached out and took her hand as they walked into the arena. "I forgot your lanyard in the locker room. Stick with me till we get down there."

Miranda nodded and walked briskly to keep up with him.

They got to the locker room and Randy squeezed her hand, "Wait here for a minute?"

"No problem."

As she was standing there waiting, she looked around. There were SO many new faces, she didn't recognize anyone.

Lillian Garcia walked by and then stopped and turned around, "Miranda is that you?"

Miranda smiled and waved, "Hey Lil! Yup, it's me."

"Oh my God! How are you?" Lillian said happily as she ran back and hugged her. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm good, thanks. How are you? And I'm just here to visit Liz and John and….Randy."

Lillian smiled, "Aww….are you and Randy back together?"

Miranda shook her head no, "No…no…we're trying to be friends."

Randy walked out of the locker room, "Ok. Here's your lan…Oh, hey Lil."

"Hey Randy. I'll let you two have some time…Good to see you Miranda." Lillian said as she waved and walked off.

Miranda looked back at Randy and took the lanyard from him, "Thanks."

"Liz and John are on their bus waiting for us." Randy said to her.

"Ok, let's go." Miranda said with a smile.

Randy took her hand as they were walking down the hall towards the door. She squeezed his hand with a smile. "Can I tell you something that will probably bite me in the ass for saying?"

"What's that babe?"

Miranda smiled, "I'm excited to see you wrestle tonight."

Randy winked at her and smiled.

They knocked on the door to the bus and walked on. "Is everybody decent?" Randy called.

Liz jumped up "MIRANDA!"

Miranda smiled, "Hey Liz!"

And the two girls hugged. John smiled at Randy, "How's it going?"

Randy nodded, "It's going. Are you guys ready to eat? We're hungry."

Liz winked at Miranda, "How's it feel to hear him say we and know that it means the two of you again?"

Miranda shook her head and whispered, "I keep trying to tell myself it means nothing…but damn he makes it hard."

Liz giggled and hugged her and whispered into her ear, "He's pushing Chris's face in the dust isn't he?"

Miranda tried to look shocked and playfully pushed her, "Girl!"

John walked over to Miranda and hugged her, "It's really great to see you again."

Miranda hugged him back, "It's good to see you too John."

"I wish you guys the best. I don't like Chris." John said with a wink.

She laughed and turned her attention back to Liz, "So what did you have in mind for dinner?"

"Well, I was thinking now we'll just find somewhere close and yummy and either sit-down or buffet. Then, after the show I was thinking we could hit up the Dave & Busters downtown and go have some fun." Liz replied.

Miranda smiled big, "That sounds absolutely great." She would NEVER be able to get Chris into a buffet or a Dave & Busters. Chris was against video games, bowling and all of those fun things. His idea of fun was playing golf.

So the four took off. They wound up finding an Outback Steakhouse and eating there. That way the boys wouldn't overeat before their match. But the four of them had such a great time. They were laughing and joking and carrying on.

For Miranda, it was really nice to go out and have such a good time. It felt good to laugh so hard she cried. Her and Randy were quickly over the awkwardness and it definitely felt like old times.

They left the restaurant and headed back to the arena. Since the guys had to hurry off and get ready and get checked in, Liz and Miranda took off to have some girl time.

"So, how are the wedding plans coming along?" Miranda asked Liz.

"Good. We're in the home stretch now. Thank goodness. No hang-ups yet. How did you stay sane? Trying to coordinate two families is pure craziness." Liz replied.

Miranda laughed, "I was lucky, Randy only has one sister and she was so great."

"Yeah, all of John's brothers have wives or very steady girlfriend. Plus with his parents being divorced and remarried and the step-siblings. Plus the seating arrangement…ugh!"

Miranda shook her head, "Honestly, I didn't do a seating arrangement. The only place that had designated spots were at the head table. I let everyone sit where they wanted so I didn't have to worry about that."

"Ooh…good idea." Liz said with a smile. "I like that!"

Miranda nodded, "We were much younger though. So I really just wanted a fairy tale wedding and for it to be easy as possible. We were working on a tight budget and kept things simple."

"Would you please tell me about it?" Liz asked.

"Well, I guess. I had a strapless dress. It was so beautiful. I had my mom's veil and bun ring. Our wedding colors were burgundy and silver. My bouquet was made up of burgundy curiosa roses and white calla lilies with a braided handle that had burgundy and silver ribbons twisted down the stems with pearl accents. Then the bridesmaid bouquets were opposite. White curiosa roses and burgundy calla lilies. We got married at the church Randy and I grew up going to."

Liz smiled, "Really? That's sweet."

Miranda nodded, "Yeah, it was. Our grandparents were there, our close, immediate friends and families were there. It was really great. Then we had our reception at a hotel and had a really nice dance. Our wedding song was "I Cross My Heart" by George Strait.

Liz smiled, "Wow, that sounds beautiful."

Miranda smiled, "Yeah, it was. I still have the album at my apartment. It's just tucked away so Christopher can't find it. I promised my mom I wouldn't throw it out until I got remarried."

They giggled. "So, what's it like? Hanging out with Randy now?" Liz asked.

"It's surreal. I mean, when we divorced, I didn't want to ever hear from him or about him ever again. The minute I heard his voice at the restaurant my heart skipped a beat as if the past was nothing. I told myself I was going to keep my distance and I was going to refuse to ever see him again, yet here I am."

Liz smiled, "Well I'm really glad you're here."

After the girls talked, they sat together to watch the boys's matches. Then it was off to the backstage area so the boys could get showered up and they could all go out and have fun at Dave & Busters.


	5. Chapter 5

**THANK YOU for reading and reviewing! I LOVE seeing your thoughts and feedback! **

The four piled into John's rental car and headed for the local Dave & Busters. The foursome decided to hit the bar, grab a drink and dive into the games. John and Randy ordered beers, then Randy turned to Miranda, "What do you want?"

Miranda thought for a minute and smiled, "My old usual."

He winked at her, "You know, I can arrange that."

She grinned, "Shut up and order it."

Randy turned back to the bartender, "She'll take a sex on the beach."

Liz ordered a strawberry daiquiri and looked at Miranda, "I haven't seen you drink one of those in forever."

Miranda nodded, "Yeah, don't remind me."

Liz leaned close to Miranda, "That's because it's not a proper drink."

"Shhh…" Miranda said holding a finger to her lips. And the two girls burst into giggles.

They four headed to the arcade. They had a blast playing the different games. Liz and Miranda tried the Dance Dance Revolution, John and Randy were racing motorcycles, it was hilarious. The four of them played the Ultimate Pac-Man games. And of course the guys had to play Madden and Golden Tee. So the girls wandered off and played some skee-ball and killed some zombies. John and Randy started to get noticed and had to sign some autographs, so then they decided to head over to their bowling alley and do some blacklight bowling. They put their name on the waiting list for a lane and headed to shuffleboard.

"Who the hell knows how to play this?" Randy asked. "Besides grandparents."

"Actually Miranda's quite good at this game, aren't ya?" Liz teased.

John looked over at her, "Wait a minute, you play shuffleboard?"

"She learned at the country club." Liz continued to tease.

"Country club? What the hell?" Randy asked completely confused.

"It's where Christopher lives." Liz said as she started her third daiquiri. "Just ask her."

Miranda was so embarrassed. Hearing Chris's name brought her back to reality. And it also made her feel bad. She has a boyfriend, what is she doing here? Trying to relive the glory days? But on the flip side of that, she couldn't remember the last time she had had so much fun. She hadn't laughed this hard and just let her hair down and have a good time without it involving politics, and debates in god only knows how long.

"Carebear, you can play shuffleboard?" Randy asked as he turned to look at her. But he could tell by the look on her face that either she was feeling guilty or Liz was touching on territory she didn't want brought up.

Miranda nodded and smiled, "Yeah, it's actually kind of fun. Especially after a few drinks. But, if you're afraid of getting beat by a girl, then we can skip it."

"Well, lets' try it. We have to wait till they call our pager goes off for bowling anyways." John said trying to lighten the mood. He took Liz's arm and started whispering to her as they walked towards the counter.

Randy put his arm around Miranda and held her, "You ok?" He asked softly.

She nodded, "Yup, I'm fine. Let's play." She was bound and determined to have a good time. Miranda knew she'd never know if she didn't just throw caution to the wind but at the same time keeping her boundaries in tact.

So they wound up at shuffleboard and the guys were just not getting it. Liz and Miranda were laughing so hard because it was like watching Happy Gilmore learning how to play golf. Finally the pager for the bowling lane went off and they headed over there.

Liz was punching in their names and entered Miranda as "Miranda O" and entered herself as "Liz C" and then entered the guys as "RO" and "JC" . Miranda walked to their table with a pitcher of beer and a soda for her. Liz was supposed to be the designated driver, but it was obvious she forgot, so Miranda stepped up. Then she looked up at the board.

"Liz, I'm not Miranda O anymore…I took my maiden name back."

Liz's eyes opened wide, "Oh My God I totally forgot. I put your name on the wedding program as Orton. Shit! I'm so sorry!"

Miranda looked at her, "You put my name on the programs as Orton?"

"Look out! Men with big balls coming through." Randy said as he and John brought bowling balls for all of them over.

Miranda rolled her eyes, "Really? Wow…"

Randy winked at her, "You know you like it."

She laughed and shook her head. Christopher was going to flip out seeing her name as Orton in the program at the wedding. She looked at Liz, "What else should I know about this wedding?"

"Well…umm….see…I…you're walking down with Randy." She said biting her finger and looking nervous. "I figured you guys knew each other and…"

Miranda took Randy's beer and took a drink from it and handed it back to him, "Ok, you're in charge of making sure there's a shot waiting by the doors of the chapel right before we walk, got it?"

Randy smiled, "Got it."

John laughed, "I knew it would be ok. Now let's play!"

And the four began to bowl. After many dirty jokes and hugs and high-fives later, they finally called it a night. As they headed back to the hotel they sang along with the radio and laughed like crazy.

They got to the hotel and dropped John and Liz off at their door. Then Randy took her hand and walked with Miranda to the elevator. "I hope you don't mind, but I booked us the same room. But there are separate beds."

Miranda smiled, "That's fine."

Randy wrapped his arms around her and held her close, "I had such a great time tonight." He said to her.

She hugged him back, "I did too."

"Is it really bad that I really want to kiss you right now?" He said as he looked into her eyes.

Miranda bit her bottom lip, "Yeah, it is really bad."

He leaned down and kissed her. The sparks were flying and the room was spinning. He held her close as he kissed her sweetly.

Miranda couldn't help it, she kissed him back. As they stood there, on the elevator making out, for once her mind wasn't saying a word.

The bell chiming that they had arrived on their floor broke the two apart. Randy ran his thumb along her cheek and smiled. He took her hand and they headed to their room.

Miranda's text message alert went off. She grabbed her phone and saw a text from Kim. "Hey girl, I'm just seeing how your Illinois trip is going. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's going well. And I hope I'm not disturbing anything…XXX"

Miranda started laughing. She handed her phone to Randy, "Kim is being nosy."

Randy read the text and laughed. Then he looked at her, "We should send her a picture to make her happy."

Miranda grinned, "You'd like that wouldn't you?"

"As if you wouldn't." He replied. Then he held the phone out and took a picture of him kissing Miranda's cheek and sent back "All is well...good night-Randy." And then sent the picture to Kim.

Miranda started laughing, "She'll LOVE that one."

"Yeah, I know. How's she doing anyways? Is she still with Neil?"

Miranda nodded, "Yup. He's ring shopping. They're going on vacation next month and he wants to propose to her there."

Miranda's phone chimed off again. Kim's text read, "Nice pic! Lookin' good Randy. Good night you guys. PS: Miranda…you're lookin' awfully happy there. Nice to see it!"

"That's great. I think her and Neil have a good thing going." Randy replied. "And they've been together for how long?"

"The first day of their cruise will be their 5 year anniversary." Miranda got up and pulled her pajamas and her toothbrush out of her bag and headed to the bathroom.

Randy took his clothes off and kicked back on his bed in his underwear. He always wore his briefs to bed.

As Miranda changed clothes she quickly text Kim, "OMG, I have had such an awesome night. You have no idea how hard I've laughed and I had two sex on the beach drinks and we went to Dave & Busters. Part of me feels incredibly guilty and the other part of me feels so free."

Kim text back, "Wow, that's really great. I think I can almost feel you smiling through your text. Just remember, keep your head on straight and try not to drive yourself crazy by questioning everything yet. Save that for your flight home."

"I'll try. My mind is racing." She quickly responded and opened the bathroom door. She was wearing a spaghetti-strap tank-top and flannel boxers. Miranda began running the water to brush her teeth.

Randy got up and grabbed his toothbrush and made his way into the bathroom.

There they stood, side-by-side, brushing their teeth…just like they used to in the old days. Miranda couldn't help but smile, the image in the mirror was one she hadn't seen in so long. Yet it was kind of nice to see again.

"You know, if my parents knew where I was right now…I'd never hear the end of it." She teased Randy.

Randy stuck out his chest all proud, "Well…I was always the son they never had."

She rolled her eyes, "Yeah…yeah…I know."

"If I let you in on a little secret, promise you won't get all mad?" He asked.

Miranda held up her pinky, "Promise."

He linked pinkies with hers, "Your mom sends me a Christmas package every year of cookies and brownies and fudge with a Christmas card."

Miranda's eyes opened wide, "WHAT? Are you kidding me?"

He shook his head no, "Once she found out from my mom that I was clean and sober, the packages started. And I get a birthday card too."

She shook her head, "Unbelievable."

They finished and walked out to the main room. Randy got on his bed, and Miranda got onto hers. He turned the tv on and then looked at her, "Hey, why don't you come sit over here for a bit. I want to talk to you."

She gave him a sly look, "Only if you promise to be a good boy."

"Oh I can always promise that." He said with a cocky look. "But yes."

She got up and sat down on his bed. He put his arm around her and moved her closer to him. "Did you have a good time tonight?"

Miranda couldn't help but smile, "Yeah, I had a great time. I haven't seen you wrestle in a long time, and a lot has changed. You did really good out there. It was good to see John wrestle too. And I can't get over how many new wrestlers there are. Is Paul a.k.a. Hunter still around?"

Randy smiled, "Thanks. Yeah, Hunter's still here. Him and Stephanie have three girls now. He just doesn't usually work the house shows."

"Aww…three little girls." Miranda cooed. "I bet they're adorable."

"Yeah, they're really cute. Steph just lost something like eighty pounds and was featured in a muscle mag. She was so stoked."

Miranda looked over at him, "She had eighty pounds to lose?"

"Yeah, after her third daughter they knew they were done having kids and she wanted to get back into shape." Randy replied.

"Wow. Good for her!"

"So…did you have a good time as a foursome?" He said with a smile.

Miranda blushed, "Yeah, I had an amazing time. God it was so much fun."

Randy held her and she let herself lean against him. He pulled the covers up and they began to flip channels. "So, now can I ask a personal question."

"Don't you always?"

"Seriously, what's the deal with Christopher? How in the hell did you ever wind up dating him?" Randy asked. "We never talked to him in school, he hated our group, what brought you two together?"

Miranda made a face. "Really? Well…he used to be a patient of the chiropractor I work for. He came in for an appointment and we started talking. Then he asked me to dinner and I went. And then we were dating. He was something completely different than what I was used to and I took it as a sign that that was where my life needed to go. So, I ran with it."

"Does he make you happy?" Randy asked.

"You know, I don't know that I'm ready to have this conversation with you yet." She replied as she tried to shy away from him, but he held her tight.

"Ok, ok. Enough serious talk then. Let's find a movie to watch." Randy said rubbing her shoulder. Something wasn't quite adding up. And he wanted to find out exactly what.

They flipped channels and both burst into laughter when they saw that Grease was coming on. Grease was their movie. They watched it all the time and even dressed as them for Halloween a few times.

Soon the awkwardness was gone again and they were snuggled under the blanket enjoying their favorite movie. They sang along with the songs and laughed.

They had been talking when suddenly it got awfully quiet. Randy looked and Miranda had fallen asleep on his chest. He didn't want to disturb her, so he made sure she was covered up and just let himself lay back and enjoy the moment. Something told him that there was more to Christopher that he wasn't picking up on…he just wasn't sure what.

The next morning Miranda woke up, and realized she had fallen asleep in bed with Randy. Her head was on his chest and her arm was draped across him. "What are you doing?" She thought to herself. "Are you just asking to make things more complicated? What the hell will it be like next weekend when you're in Boston for Liz's wedding?"

But yet she didn't find herself moving. Everything about Christopher's lifestyle was SO strict and so rigid. He had to be in control of everything all the time. He never wanted to just let loose and go out and have fun. They never went on dates unless it was to the country club. He was the type who liked things just so and you didn't question that. She made a stern face, "It's not like he beats me or anything." She argued with herself. But when was the last time she was able to just relax and have fun and just be herself.

When she was out with Liz, John and Randy, she was able to be silly. She could make dirty jokes and talk innuendo and not get a stern talking to or an upset glance. She could wake Randy up and make a joke with him that he was pitching a tent under the covers, but with Christopher if she even said the word hard-on or boner or anything sex-related he would get so embarrassed he would hardly look at her for days.

Chris also didn't like any of her friends. He hated when she went out with them and none of them really cared for him much either. Not to mention her family.

But, he did offer a different lifestyle than she was used to. He was home a lot. There wasn't the threat of major injuries occurring; she didn't have to worry about crazed fans showing up. He also wouldn't cheat on her. He couldn't talk about sex, let alone have it with multiple people at once. On the flipside, there was the politics. All he cared about was money and making money. So much of his free time was spent at the country club, and a lot of the guys he spent his time with had wives that were straight out of Stepford. They all played tennis and golf and did everything in their power to become a trophy wife.

And he barely ever went out with her anywhere other than the country club or some formal dinner for whatever cause. Was she just being too nit-picky? Or did she have logical reasoning for her questioning? Had she just grown so custom to Randy's lifestyle that a more normal one seemed foreign to her? Part of her said no because her friends were all in relationships where they went to dinner and went on road trips and had date nights. But then the other part of her said yes because they weren't dating guys in Christopher's line of work. His family was like this, so maybe it was common on that side?

Randy began to stir and Miranda snapped out of her thoughts. He moaned and stretched. Then he kissed her forehead, "Good morning Carebear."

She smiled, "Mornin' stud."

He smiled and tilted her head and kissed her lips, "How long have you been up?"

"Oh…not very long."

"Wanna hop in the shower and we'll head down and grab a bite to eat and then we'll see if the Cenas are awake?" Randy offered.

She nodded, "Yeah, that sounds good."

"Ok, I'll meet you in there." He said with a wink.

"Randal Keith Orton, don't you dare." She teased.

"So are you telling me you'd stop me?" He replied in a cocky tone.

God how she loved his first waking up voice. It was low and sexy and made her smile. "Yes I would." And she got up and out of bed and headed into the bathroom.

**Well….day two is officially beginning….what will it hold instore? Christopher hasn't even attempted to contact her yet….will he? Is she beginning to fall for Randy again? Please read and review! **


	6. Chapter 6

** I am SO sorry that this chapter is SO late. I got the worst head cold EVER...and then I passed it to my kids. UGH! But, I promise, this will not disappoint. Thank you for being patient and reading! Please continue to read and review! Thanks again! PS: Please remember, I do not follow timelines or storylines.**

Randy laughed to himself as he heard the sound of the bathroom door lock. God how he loved to make her laugh. He kicked back on the bed and relaxed.

Miranda climbed into the shower and turned on the hot water. As the water rained down upon her, all she could do was question everything that was going on around her. Then she shook her head and tried to focus on the events of the day ahead.

When she got done, she wrapped her hair up in a towel and one around her body and headed into the main room to find her clothes.

Randy couldn't help but whistle at her. He got up off the bed and walked up behind her, "You know, we've known each other for quite sometime, and you lost your virginity to me. Eventually we were married and still had sex. I've seen you naked a time or two." He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek.

At first she leaned into him, but then she pulled away. "Randy...I'm in a very awkward place right now. And I don't think you fully understand where I'm coming from. I've been cheated on, and I know how awful it feels. And we've been kissing and I fell asleep on your chest, and that makes me a cheater. I came out here to see what your life is like now, and to see how much you've changed and to see if you're truly clean and sober. And all I'm doing is betraying everything I stand for. I can't do this Randy...I just can't.

Randy nodded, now he felt bad. He wanted to make her laugh and all he was doing was making her feel guilty. If anything, he was pushing her into Christopher's arms. How did he look to her if he was so quick to convince her to cheat? "Miranda, you're absolutely right. I promised you that I would be respectful and I don't want you to get the wrong idea about me or my intentions. I tease because I always tease. Why do you think I got in trouble for sexual harassment? I've been coming on to you in good fun, and that's all. I will keep my feelings in check, I'm sorry for how I've acted." He said sincerely.

Miranda smiled and nodded, "Thanks Randy. I don't want you to quit being you. I don't mind the teasing and the jokes. It's nice to not have the awkward tension. I just wanted to be clear that I will not be having sex with you. But I want you to know that the kisses have been quite nice."

Randy smiled and winked at her as he headed towards the bathroom. He stopped in his track when her phone began to ring.

She looked at him, "Don't you say a word or make a sound, got it?" She turned on the tv for background noise and turned on the speaker phone. "Hello?"

Randy went to quietly shut the door but stopped because what he heard next shocked him.

"Where in the hell are you?" Christopher souted angrily. "I need to know where you are at all times."

"Excuse me?" She replied very shocked.

"Where the fuck are you? I just got a call from Victor saying that you didn't show up to your personal trainer appointment this morning. And I have my own shit to worry about, I don't need to try and track you down."

Miranda closed her eyes and sighed, "I'm sorry. I spaced the appointment. I wound up flying out of town."

"What the hell for? You can't even keep your appointments, what makes you think you deserve to do something for yourself? Why didn't you ask me before you went traipsing all over?"

"Christopher, calm down please." She begged as she turned off the speaker phone. "First off, you were out of town and told me not to bother you. Second off, the opportunity arrose and I took it. I do have a life too you know."

"You're damn right I'm busy. And then I get an embarrassing phone call because you no-showed your appointment." He fired back. "Seriously, what kind of image does that set forth."

"STOP!" She begged. "Do you know what it makes you look like when you call me screaming at me for something you DON'T control? I will NOT stand for this. I am my own person. I will do what I want, when I want. And you will NOT talk to me as if I was a child." She snapped back. "You are NOT the only one that has people and business in other states."

Christopher took a deep breath, "Look Miranda, I'm sorry but I'm under a lot of stress and I shouldn't have taken it out on you. Finding out that you weren't at the appointment caught me off guard and I got worried about you love...I'm sorry."

Miranda looked over and locked eyes with Randy who looked like he was pissed. She looked to the floor, "I appreciate you worrying, yes I know I should have told you but I was trying to be considerate. There is no need to panic,you could have just asked me." She began to nod.."Yes...uh-huh...I know, but I'm a big girl. Yes, of course I forgive you."

Christopher sighed, "So answer my question, where are you?"

She paused for a moment, "I'm out with Liz. We're finishing up the last minute things."

"Ok, I have to go. Don't call me, I'll call you." And he hung up.

The minute she hung up the phone Randy was on her, "What the hell was that? Who in the hell does he think he is talking to you like that?"

Miranda shook her head, "I have no idea, he's NEVER done that before, I swear. He's stressed out and freaked out. It's ok. Go take your shower, I'm hungry."

Randy looked at her concerned, "PROMISE me he's never done that before. Tell me he doesn't treat you like that."

Miranda shook her head no, "No he doesn't. This was an isolated incident." Inside her head, she was shocked beyond belief, his outburst completely caught her off guard.

"So you're going to be ok." He asked gently.

Miranda nodded, but still broke down in tears. "Do you think I'm a hypocrite?"

"What?"

"I left you because you wouldn't quit running around with other girls, but yet here I am with you and lying to my boyfriend about it."

He hugged her close, "No, absolutely not. Your morals are still in tact. And I promise you, if you can look me in the eye and tell me that you are completely happy with Christopher then I'll back off. Bottom line, I just want to see you happy."

She fell silent, "Randal, I can't do that. But I still need you to respect me until I can figure things out."

Randy smiled, "Deal."

"Now go shower...I'm still hungry." She said with a laugh. Once he was finally in the bathroom she shook her head and got dressed.

Randy walked out in just a towel. "Carebear, I thought of something. I want you to also promise me one other thing. PLEASE, don't overthink things. Sometimes the voices in your head are NOT your friend. They can also be your worst enemy. Just remember, no matter what, you can't deny what the heart wants." And he walked to his bag to find his clothes.

"Did you doubt our relationship when you were cheating on me?" She asked.

He turned around and looked at her, "What?"

"I'm sorry to be a downer, but did you question our relationship or doubt it when you were with the other girls?"

Randy sat down and patted the spot next to him, "No. I always knew I loved you and that you were the only girl for me. But, there was a lot of drugs, a lot of booze and a whole lot of bad decisions and ego-stroking that justified my actions to myself. Every morning after I regretted everything I had just done."

Miranda took a deep breath and nodded. "Sorry to be a downer. Let's go to breakfast and talk."

Randy nodded and kissed her forehead. Then he got up and got dressed.

Miranda sat there lost in thought. The loudest thought was of Christopher's voice yelling at her. She NEVER let Randy off the hook that easily for snaping on her like that, whether he was hungover or high. The only times they ever fought was when he was under the influence...maybe Kim was right? Maybe her and Christopher was all wrong.

"Earth to Miranda...Ready?" Randy said snapping his fingers.

She snapped back to attention, "Yup, let's go."

And they headed down to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. Miranda and Randy found a table tucked off in the corner and sat down. They ate their breakfast and talked and laughed and had a nice, long talk.

They rode with John and Liz to the next city, Champaign, IL. As the boys took off to the gym, Liz and Miranda went out for coffee.

"So, how was your night and morning?" Liz asked nosily.

"Man, you couldn't wait to ask, could you." Miranda said with a laugh. "But, it was nice. We had a really good talk this morning and worked out a lot of things."

"That's good. I'm glad that all is going well."

Miranda nodded, "Thanks, I'm glad that we've been able to work out a lot of issues. At least we can walk away from this weekend as friends."

Soon the girls began to gab about the wedding and had a great time.

**Later that night...**

Miranda said goodbye to Randy and wished him the best and headed out to the audience. She found her seat and sat down. She looked around and settled in.

There was a hand on her shoulder, "Miranda, is that you?"

She froze at the voice speaking to her, that voice belonged to the one and only Joe Gilmore...Christopher's brother. She turned and smiled, "Joe...Hi! How are you? What are you doing here?"

He laughed, "Come on now...you know that I live in Champaign. And I thought I'd swing down and see how Randy's doing now days. What are you doing here?"

She looked the like the cat that ate the canary. "I..uh...well...I am in a wedding and I'm out here with the bride. She's marrying John Cena."

Joe nodded, "That's cool. So, it has nothing to do with visiting Randy, huh?" He added with a smile.

"No...I mean yes he's in the wedding too, but..." She replied nervously.

Joe laughed and patted her on the back, "Level with me. How did you ever wind up with a schmuck like Chris?"

"What?" Miranda asked confused.

Joe shook his head, "Seriously. You and Randy were the couple everyone wanted to be like in high school. And when the two of you divorced I think part of St. Louis died. Not to mention the day you started dating Chris. I really don't know if you truly know what you're getting yourself into."

"Well, that's very nice of you to say." Miranda started to say when the lights went out and the pyro began to signal the beginning of the show.

She turned and looked at Joe, "If you could, please don't say anything to Chris that you saw me here. I just don't want to ruffle his feathers."

Joe held up his hands, "No problem. I didn't see you."

The house show had some solid matches. Liz took her spot next to Miranda in time to watch John's match. "Did I miss anything good?" She asked Miranda.

"Well, The guy behind me is Chris's brother. But other than that, no not really."

"Oh my God are you serious?" Liz said shocked.

"Yeah, but it's ok. He's friends with Randy. Not the entire family hates Randy, just Chris."

The girls laughed and turned their attention back to the match. John won and then it was time for Randy's. Randy smiled and winked at Miranda as he made his way to the ring. Then his opponent walked down to the ring.

As the match was underway, Miranda watched intently. Just as the match was at its peak...everything went south. Randy's opponent picked Randy up and threw him over the ropes. When Randy hit the ground, there was a sickening thud and Randy instantly arched, and rolled half under the ring. The ref went running over and knealt down to check on him.

Miranda leapt to her feet and held her breath. She knew in her gut that he was hurt. She grabbed Liz's arm tight. Randy slowly got up with assistance and his opponent quickly covered him and pinned him. Soon there was a team of people helping Randy out of the ring and towards the ramp.

As they got close to where Miranda and Liz were, Randy reached out towards Miranda and motioned towards the backstage. She nodded and turned to Liz, "I've gotta get back there."

"Let's go."

And they quickly made their way through the crowd. By the time they got backstage, there was a ton of commotion and they weren't letting anyone near Randy. Miranda called out to Randy.

Randy looked at the road doctor, "Let her through. She's with me."

The doctor turned and nodded and soon she was guided through the mass. She grabbed Randy's hand, "Are you ok? What happened?"

"I think I fucked up my back again. It's been bad, and I landed wrong." He grimaced and let go of her hand so he could make fists.

The doctor looked at Randy, "Yes you did. We need to get you to the hospital."

As the doctor and Randy began to talk back and forth about his condition and pain, some of the crowd began to disperse and some of the wrestlers and other people backstage made their way to Randy's side.

The guy who was his opponent who Miranda still didn't know walked up to Randy, "I'm sorry dude, are you gonna be ok?"

Randy shook his head, "I don't know."

The guy looked at Miranda and looked back at Randy, "I've got you...I'll get rid of the fattie."

John grabbed his arm and shook his head quickly, "No Wade, come here."

Randy did a double-take, "What?"

The guy motioned towards Miranda, "The fattie...I'll get rid of her."

Miranda rolled her eyes and turned away so she could hide her disgust.

Randy shot him an angry look and growled, "She's my ex-wife and the woman I love. You will talk about her with respect."

Wade's eyes opened wide, "Oh shit I'm sorry dude."

"You apologize to her." Randy snarled.

Wade turned to Miranda, "I'm so sorry, I meant no disrespect. I shouldn't have assumed you were a ring rat."

She looked confused, "If that was an apology, then thank you."

The paramedics got Randy on the stretcher and began to wheel him towards the door. "Miranda" Randy called out. "Please come with me."

Miranda ran over and walked with him, "Of course I will."

They loaded him into the ambulance and showed Miranda where she could sit and off they went to the hospital.

Miranda stayed right by his side as much as they would allow her to. Hours later Miranda was wheeling him towards the door of the hospital. "So they think you have a herniated disc between L4 and L5 in your lower back. But until the inflammation goes down, they won't know for sure."

Randy looked up at her, "Don't take this the wrong way, but with the painkillers they gave me, I'm high as a kite and I probably won't remember any of what you're telling me."

She nodded. It wasn't the first time she had heard this line. And it was a chilling reminder of the past.

Miranda spotted the car that John and Liz had brought to the hospital for them to use. She helped Randy into the car and then she climbed in and began to drive to the hotel.

By the time they got there Randy was already asleep. "Randy...Randy, we're at the hotel." She said was she rubbed his knee. She didn't dare shake him awake.

He finally stirred and opened his eyes a bit, "Carebear..." He mumbled. "My back hurts."

She nodded, "I know. Let's go upstairs and I'll put the heating pads on it. The doctor gave me a care package for you."

He slowly turned and she helped him out of the car. It had been so long since she had seen him in so much pain. It made her want to cry. Back injuries were bad...she saw them all the time working at the chiropractor's office. She helped him up to their room and then helped him get out of his hoodie. Then she helped him lay down on his stomach. She helped him prop up pillows and threw the heating pads in the microwave.

She folded a towel and laid it on his lower back and put the heating pads on his back. He moaned, "That feels really good."

Miranda smiled and laid down on her bed. "I hope they help. I'm worried about you."

"Nah...don't worry. Just, do me a favor."

Miranda rolled on her side so she could see him, "What's that?"

"No narcotic painkillers unless I can't move. I don't like taking them anymore. Makes me nervous."

She smiled and got up to head into the bathroom with her bag. When she came out, she was in her pajamas. Miranda set the timer on her watch and she sat down gently next to Randy. "Try and get some sleep, I'll work on your back."

"We're flying home tomorrow, don't forget." Randy mumbled as he began to doze back off.

"Yes, I know. Now go to sleep so I can take care of you." And she did...all night long. She alternated heat, cold, room temperature...over and over until the next morning.

**WELL...how will their third day together go? They'll be flying home together...Please read and review!**


	7. Chapter 7

***THANKS you guys!***

Randy awoke to the sound of something beeping. He opened his eyes and saw Miranda get out of bed and head over to the microwave. He rubbed his eyes, "Carebear, what are you doing?"

She jumped at the sound of his voice, "You needed to ice and heat your back, so I've been working on it all night. 20 minutes with the heating pad, 20 minutes without, then 20 minutes of ice and then 20 minutes without."

"You've been doing this all night long?" He asked surprised.

Miranda nodded as she brought the heating pad over and laid it on the towel on his back. "Yeah, I know how much it would help."

He patted the spot next to him. When she gently laid down, he put his arm around her and held her close, "That means a lot to me Carebear, thank you."

She nodded, "You're welcome. I knew you'd appreciate it."

"Have you taken a break to sleep?" He asked.

"After every sixty minutes I take an hour to sleep." She replied.

"Close your eyes, it's my turn to take care of you." Randy replied as he held her close.

As Miranda rolled to her stomach to get comfortable, Randy rubbed her back over her shirt so she didn't get the wrong idea. "Am I ok?" He asked.

She nodded as she yawned. "Yeah, that's nice." And not very long after she was fast asleep.

Randy laid there staring at her. "Could this be a good sign? Was she just being nice, or was she giving serious thought to giving him a second chance?" He asked himself. God how he loved to watch her sleep. She looked so relaxed and so peaceful. He closed his eyes and smiled and soon he was back asleep as well.

Miranda woke up to Randy's phone ringing. "Randy, your phone is ringing."

Randy's eyes opened and he reached over and grabbed his phone, "Hello?"

"Randy, it's mom." His mom Elaine replied. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I messed up my back again. They don't know if it's herniated or broken. So I'm flying home tonight."

"Oh my God. Do you need us to pick you up?" She asked.

"No, I have a ride." He said hugging Miranda.

"Ok. I'm just making sure. How are you feeling?"

"Sore as hell." Randy said gruffly. "But, I'll survive."

"Alright, well try and take it easy. Don't over-exert yourself and call me when you get home. I love you."

"Love you too mom." Randy replied as he hung up.

"What time is it?" Miranda asked.

"It's quarter to eleven." Randy replied.

"Let's get up and get ready. We should leave for the airport at noon. Have you checked in with John and Vince?" She asked.

"Ok and no and no." Randy replied as he let go of her. "But I will now."

"I'm going to take a shower." She said as she got out of bed. She turned and kissed his cheek, "Thanks for the snuggles."

He smiled as he watched her walk into the bathroom. Then he made all of his phone calls. He slowly stood up and carefully stretched. He felt like hell. His lower back was killiing him.

Miranda walked out of the bathroom and found Randy stretching. "Feeling any better?"

Randy shook his head no, "Actually...my back feels like shit to be honest. And my left leg is tingling."

Miranda made a face, "That's not good."

"Hey, can I ask you a really big favor? And if you say no, I totally understand." Randy asked as he stood up to look at her. "When we get back to St. Louis, do you think you could take me to the grocery store? Before you drive me home?"

She looked at him and laughed, "Yeah, I can take you to the grocery store. No problem."

"Thanks Carebear. I'm going to take a hot shower. Then we'll get going." Randy replied kissing her on the cheek.

She nodded as he slowly walked into the bathroom.

Miranda got dressed and sent a text to Christopher letting him know that she'd be home late and would be at work tomorrow. She never did get a response. Miranda shook her head and rolled her eyes. She did a once over and made sure that she had everything packed.

Randy made his way out of the bathroom and bent over to reach his bag and his back spasmed. He let go of his towel and grabbed his lower back as he cried out in pain.

Miranda jumped and turned around, "What happened? Are you ok?"

"No, my back is spasming. Fuck."

"Ok, calm down. Let me help." She said walking over to him. That's when it occurred to her he didn't have a towel on anymore. She took a deep breath and reached out and helped him drop to his knees. Then she stood behind him and began to rub his lower back. She rubbed and kneaded him.

Randy moaned and slowly started to relax a little which helped to relieve the spasming a bit. He let his hips sink a little more and relaxed the muscles as much as he could. "You're lucky I've changed. Right now I'd be popping a few pills and drifting off to lala land if I hadn't turned over a new leaf."

Miranda chuckled, "Oh thank God. Instead you're screaming in pain on your knees and naked as I am standing behind you rubbing on your lower back."

"Well, if you want, you could take off your clothes and get on your knees?" He said with a laugh.

"Good, you're feeling better. Smartass. Now let's get you dressed so we don't miss our flight." She replied as she almost playfully spanked him but stopped herself just in time.

Randy slowly lifted his bag and set it on the bed he pulled out his clothes. "See, seeing me naked isn't so bad is it?"

"Are you dressed yet?" Miranda replied completely ignoring his comment.

"Seriously, can you help me with my pants? Bending over kills me."

She turned around to face him. He was sitting on the bed and she could see in his face he was being serious this time. "Yeah, I can help."

Miranda walked over and grabbed his briefs and his track pants. She slid them on and then had him stand and once they were above his knees he grabbed them and pulled them up. "Thanks Carebear."

She nodded as she walked into the bathroom. She came out with all of his stuff and began to pack his bag. "Miranda, I swear I didn't call you out here to take care of me."

Miranda smiled, "I sure as hell hope not. Who gets injured going into an important pay-per-view and his best friend's wedding?"

"Ha ha ha...funny." Randy replied as he tried to stand up straight. "Let's get out of here."

Miranda grabbed his bag and her bag. "Alright, let's go."

Randy was definitely moving slow. He was trying to grin and bear it through the pain. As they walked through the lobby, he was approached by a few fans for autographs. He posed for a few pictures and then he handed his wallet to Miranda, "Wanna go take care of it?"

She nodded and took his wallet and headed over to the desk.

"So...is he going to be ok?" A familiar male voice asked quietly.

She turned and smiled a bit as she saw Joe standing there. "I don't know...he's really hurting."

"It's good to see you by his side again. Trust me on this one, stay away from Chris. I can't break the vow of brotherhood but I can't watch you go down with him. He's a ship getting ready to sink and he's going to drag everyone with him. You and Randy were meant to be together." Joe said sincerely to her. "I'm here to talk to Randy for a minute. I know you have a plane to catch. But I'll talk to you later."

And without another word or time for Miranda to respond, he walked over and began chatting with Randy. She watched him peculiarly. What was his deal? Why was he so busy trying to get her away from his own brother? Did he actually know something she didn't? Or was it the fact that he was closer to Randy then to his own brother?

Randy shook his hand and then walked over to Miranda, "Did you get everything squared away?"

She nodded and handed him back his wallet, "Yup, and I got your receipts."

"Thanks Carebear." He said with a smile and he took his wallet and put it into his fanny pack.

"Alright, let's head out."

And they left. By the time they landed in St. Louis, Randy's back was completely tense and spasming horribly. Miranda was trying everything she could to help, but the plane ride was too tough on his back.

As they walked through the airport, Miranda fell a few steps behind Randy. She still had yet to hear back from Christopher so she was a bit nervous about whom they would run into.

They made it to the ramp and found Miranda's car. Once they were inside, Miranda looked over at him. "Do you need to take one of your pills? You look like you're hurting really bad."

Randy shook his head, "Yes I do, but I'm not going to. I can't till I'm at home where I can take one, sit in the hot tub and pass out."

"Randy, you can't take one and sit in the hot tub. You'll fall asleep and drown."

"But I need the hot tub to loosen my back muscles. Right now I have to loosen the muscles before the ice will do anything. And the pill will help ease the pain so I quit tensing the rest of my back to compensate."

"Ok Mr. Analytical, but those pills make you drowsy. And if you get drowsy, you'll fall asleep and drown." Miranda replied concerned.

Randy rolled his eyes, "Yes ma'am. I'll be careful. I'll sit in the hot tub, then take a pill and then pass out."

Miranda smiled and shook her head, "God you're such a smartass."

"Better to be a smartass then a dumbass." Randy replied non-chalantly.

She turned the car on and they headed for the grocery store. Miranda always listened to country music which usually drove Randy up the wall. But this time, Randy was humming along with the Dierks Bentley song on the radio. She looked over at him, "How do you know this song?"

Randy looked like a kid that got his hand caught in the cookie jar. "Well…uh…I started listening to country a bit while I was in rehab. Some of it's not too bad."

Miranda smiled, "See…it's not all bad. Plus you liked our wedding song, and that was country."

Randy stuck his tongue out at her and laid his head back against the headrest.

They got to the grocery store closest to Randy's house and got out. They walked inside and grabbed a cart. Miranda and Randy began to grocery shop and stroll down memory lane. Soon they were laughing and carrying on. Randy would put something in the cart and Miranda would shake her head and put it back. They were carrying on as if they were two schoolkids in love.

Miranda went back to grab Randy's favorite juice and Randy headed to the meat section. Soon he heard a very familiar voice. "Mr. Orton, longtime no see."

Randy smiled and turned, "Mr. Jewell, how've you been." And the two shook hands.

"Cut the formals. How the hell are ya?" Greg Jewell replied. Randy couldn't believe Miranda's dad was at the grocery store. Soon Miranda's mom was also standing with the guys.

Miranda's mom Carol gave Randy a big hug, "It's really good to see you. What have you been up to?"

So the three of them were standing by the hamburger chatting. Miranda wasn't paying attention and rounded the corner and then stopped.

"Miranda! What a surprise! Guess who we ran into?" Her mom said excitedly.

Miranda turned seven shades of red. "Actually I know. I'm here helping him grocery shop."

Both parents stopped and looked at her. Randy bit his lip to try and not laugh. He knew that Miranda's parents loved him.

"Well, we ran into each other and he invited me to go and see a show, and it happened to be the same house show that Liz was at. So I finished up some wedding stuff while seeing him. Then he got hurt last night and so now here we are." Miranda replied quickly and nervously.

"You two have to come for dinner tonight. Greg can grill some steaks, Miranda you could make that salad that Randy likes so much. I'll make a dessert. That way you don't have to worry about anything but getting better and catching up." Carol interjected.

"Mom, I don't know. Randy's pretty sore…" She started to protest, but Randy quickly cut in.

"I think I'll be ok. I can bring a cushion." Randy said with a smile.

Miranda shot him a look, but he acted like he didn't notice.

"Hell, I'll break out the cards and we can play a few hands of five-hundred Rummy and maybe some Yahtzee." Greg replied.

"Alright! Game night at the Jewell household." Randy said happily. He reached over and squeezed Miranda's shoulder.

Miranda faked a smile, "Great, I guess we'll see you guys tonight. What time?"

"Let's say 5:30pm. I can make up a couple appetizers." Carol said happily.

Greg shook Randy's hand again, "See you tonight pal." And him and Carol walked off happily whispering to each other.

Miranda looked at Randy, "What the hell was that?" She hissed at him.

"Well, your parents invited us to dinner, and I thought it would be impolite to turn them down." Randy replied innocently.

"Don't give me that. You have to remember that we are NOT together and that I am currently seeing somebody who is due home anytime tonight. Remember? That's why I was flying home today…What do I say to him now?" Miranda replied frantically.

Randy leaned down and looked her in the eyes, "Babe, you worry too much. Relax…this will be fun. We're just two friends who happen to be divorced from each other having dinner and game night at your parents' house."

Miranda hated the fact that she was secretly wishing he'd kiss her. She closed her eyes and nodded, "Yeah, you're right. God knows my parents love you like a son."

They finished grocery shopping and she brought him to his house.

Walking into the house they used to share was very overwhelming. A lot of it still looked the same even though it had been a couple years. She could still see where their wedding pictures used to be. Miranda shook her head to make the memories float away as she carried the bags inside.

In the kitchen she began to put things away. It was odd to her that she still remembered where everything went and just how he liked them. In a sense it was almost as if she had only been on vacation. Randy didn't say too much because he could tell by the look on her face her mind was racing. What he didn't realize was that her heart was pounding and the tears were burning her eyes. The reality of the truth was hitting her like a ton of bricks…even though she had tried to deny it for so long. She still loved Randy and she missed being with him.

Randy walked into the kitchen just as she was putting the last couple things away. "Hey, are you mad about me telling your parents yes about dinner?"

Miranda didn't turn around, she was afraid he'd see her tears. "No, no, it's ok. Don't worry about it."

Randy walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder, "Carebear…I really, really appreciate you doing all of this for me. It means a lot to me. I know this weekend was crazy and overwhelming and I know I toed the line with some of my joking. But I really appreciate this. Thank you."

Miranda nodded as she turned to face him, "You're welcome Randy. I have to also tell you thank you. I lost a part of me awhile ago. A part of me that I didn't think existed anymore. And over the weekend, I found it again. And it was really nice. So no, I'm not upset about dinner. I'm kind of excited to have dinner and game night over there. With you. But I've gotta go. This is a lot. I'll pick you up around 5pm. You should probably soak in the hot tub and then use the ice packs on your lower back. And definitely bring a pillow for support over at their house."

Before Randy could respond, Miranda had grabbed her purse and headed to the front door. She quickly got into her car and left. As she drove her mind was running wild…"What do I do now?"

**How will game night go? What's going to happen between her and Christopher? What was Joe alluding too when he told Miranda she needed to get away from him before he took her down too? Please read and review!***


	8. Chapter 8

**You guys are amazing! Thanks for the support, encouragement and feedback! **

Miranda parked her car and headed inside. It felt good to be home. She threw her keyes on the stand and walked into the kitchen. She grabbed a Diet Coke and pushed play on the answering machine. Old-fashioned yes, but she loved the motions. There was a message from Kim teasing her about her weekend, a message from her mom telling her to also make the 7-layer taco dip that Randy loved so much, because that would bring back many wonderful memories for the two of them and help to cheer him up even though he's injured.

Miranda rolled her eyes and deleted her message. Just as she was ready to walk away, there was another message and it was from Chris. "I'm not coming home tonight, but I need you to call me with your checking and savings account numbers and routing numbers. Leave it on my voicemail right away. I'll be home tomorrow and I'll explain then. We'll go and have dinner at the club and relax over a bottle of champagne. Just leave me the information ASAP. I also just emailed you an attachment with my business accounts and passwords. If you could go ahead and analyze and reconcile those accounts and run the various billing cycles I would appreciate it. Thanks Miranda." And he hung up.

Miranda got up and walked over to her desktop computer. Then it dawned on her...what on Earth would he need that information for? They weren't on the account together, nor would they be. And why would he call her house phoone and leave it on her machine instead of just calling her on the cellphone? Was it because he didn't want her to ask questions? Not to mention that he didn't want her to have anything to do with any of his business affairs and suddenly he wanted her submersed in them?

She went to bring up the internet but then something in her gut told her not to do it. She got up and called his brother Joe.

Joe answered the phone sounding surprised to hear from her. But Miranda didn't have time to bullshit around, she cut right to the chase. "Joe, It's Miranda and we need to talk. Not only do we need to talk but you need to be honest with me."

"Uh...ok. What's up?" Joe replied.

"Why would Christopher suddenly want my checking and savings account information as soon as possible and he wants me to run his billing and reconcile all of his business accounts? He's never wanted me involved, we haven't even been dating that long, so why would he want all of that?"

Joe sat up in his chair, "You didn't do it did you? You didn't give him anything or touch those accounts did you?" He said nervously.

"No, not yet. I called you instead." She replied. "What's going on?"

Joe closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. "If you've ever listened to me in your life, now is the time to do so. Act like you never got the message. Completely ignore what you heard and don't call him back. I can't say too much, but you need to stay the hell away from him. If you've never been involved in his business, or if you've never had joint accounts, DON'T START NOW. Now is the time to break up and avoid him at all costs."

Miranda shook her head confused, "Why do you keep saying that? Joe, be honest with me here. I'm losing my mind."

"I can't say anything more. If I could, I would. But you have to believe me when I say I can't. Miranda, he's not a good person. You are so much better off alone or with Randy then you are with Christopher. Randy has really straightened himself out and you guys could easily go back to being the golden couple. Against all odds, hands down you guys could have the world." He said sincerely. "But hear me out, get away from Christopher." It killed him not to tell her the truth, but it would all come out soon enough.

"Alright, fine. I'll ignore the message. But if your brother loses his temper wih me about this, I'm not going to be happy." Miranda replied sounding frustrated.

"If he loses his temper, it won't mean anything because you are going to walk away from him. Now I have to go, I've already said too much. Just don't get caught up in his mess. Walk away and never look back." Joe said as he hung up.

Miranda hung up the phone. She looked over at the clock and realized she needed to get going to make the salad and the taco dip in time. She grabbed the phone and called her best friend Kim. Kim could always help her figure out what to do next. And she needed to vent about what Joe had just told her.

Shortly before five Miranda pulled into the driveway of Randy's house. She couldn't help but smile. Talking with Kim had really helped her not only find her way but find peace with it also. There was an eerie sense coming over her...almost as if she was returning home. She got out of the car and walked up th walkway. She rang the doorbell...then rang it again. Finally she turned the doorknob and found it wasn't locked.

Miranda walked in, but there weren't any lights on. She turned on the light and called out for Randy, but got no response. So she turned and walked up the stairs and headed for his bedroom door. She remembered back when it was their bedroom door.

There he was, fast asleep on his stomach. Randy was completely naked except for the icepacks wrapped in washcloths on his lower back. Miranda smiled and shook her head at the sight. Then she noticed something...Randy was sleeping on his old side of the bed. He wasn't in the middle, or sprawled out. He was laying perfectly on his side.

She softly sat down beside him and began to massage his back. She leaned down and kissed his cheek. Throughout the weekend, Randy had mainly been the one who initiated any sort of contact between them. But she needed to try it and see how it felt.

As she dug her nails into Randy's shoulder blade as she massaged he moaned a bit. He looked over his shoulder at her and smiled, "Good morning sunshine."

Miranda smiled. She began to rub the base of his neck, "Good morning Sleeping Beauty."

Randy rolled his shoulders, "Mmm...that feels really good."

"I don't dare touch your lower back, but I thought I'd work on the upper a bit" She said quietly. She locked eyes with him, then finally gave in to the screaming in her head and kissed him sweetly.

Randy kissed her back pleasantly surprised. He carefully rolled on to his back so he could hold her better.

She slid her hand around the back of his head and held him close. The fireworks that were going off were comparable to when they were kissing in his truck after going out for dinner.

A slight moan escaped her and made Randy smile beneath the kiss. He gently teased her lips with the tip of his tongue and soon they were French kissing.

As the two laid there making out, they lost themselves into one another. Nothing else mattered. Randy slid his hand down her back and squeezed her butt.

Miranda smiled. She pulled back from him and looked into his eyes, "We should get going or we're going to be late."

Randy nodded, "True...but I do know of a way we could be really late."

Miranda smirked and shook her head, "Not yet stud." She sat up and carefully helped him up. It was obvious that he had "rose to the occasion" and she smiled to herself as she grabbed him clothes. She helped him get dressed the same way she did at the hotel.

Finally they were walking out. ""Are you going to be ok getting into my car?" She asked. She knew that her car sat much lower than his truck did and put a lot more stress on his lower back.

He thought for a minute, then pulled his eyes out of his pocket and handed them to her, "Let's take the Hummer."

She smiled and took the keys from him, "It's been awhile since I've driven this thing."

"Did you forget how? I can always help to remind you how to drive a stick." He said with a wink.

She smirked and shook her head, "Yeah I bet you could."

As Randy climbed in, she grabbed her salad and the pan of taco dip out of the backseat. Soon they were on the road to her parents' house. She turned on the radio and found her favorite country music station.

"Was everything ok at your place?" Randy asked cautiously.

She nodded, "Kind of. It's hard to explain, but it is what it is."

They spoke about what Randy needed to do on Monday as they arrived at her parents' house. She grabbed the salad and handed it to Randy as she grabbed out the 7-layer taco dip.

Randy walked in and called out, "We're home!"

Carol walked out with a smile, "Hi kids! Come on in and make yourself at home. Miranda, you can bring those into the kitchen. Randy, can I get you something to drink? Do you want a beer or a soda?"

Randy smiled, "I would love a beer, thank you. I'll go step outside and talk to Greg." And he took his leave.

Carol turned to Miranda who started to set up the appetizers. "So, what's going on? How did this happen? What's your status with Christopher?"

Miranda took a deep breath, "I was out to dinner with Chris and ran into Randy. He wouldn't take no for an answer, so we wound up going out to dinner and we talked about the divorce and everything we've never had closure on. Then he invited me out to the house show and here we are. As far as Chris and I are concerned, we're not going to be together for much longer. NOT because of Randy, but because there's something going on and I'm not comfortable. But I don't want to break up with him over the phone. I feel there needs to be respect. And no I'm not just going to go running back to Randy. At least not yet. I feel weird."

"You know," Carol began, "He has worked really hard to become the man you deserve to have. He knew who he used to be and what he had become, so he straightened up and really turned his life around. His parents are SO proud of him now. You really should consider giving him a chance."

"I am giving him a chance. And right now, it's really nice." Miranda admitted with a smile.

Carol smiled and nodded. She could see the sparkle was already back in Miranda's eye.

Greg smiled when he saw Randy walking towards him carrying a couple of beers. "How ya doin' sir?"

"Now what did I tell you about that formality shit?" Greg replied taking a beer from him and shaking his hand. "It's good to see ya here again."

"It's good to be here sir." Randy replied as he opened his beer.

"Sit down Randy, let's have a talk." Greg said pointing to the lawn chair that had two pillows on it waiting for him.

And together the two men sat down and first, Greg gave Randy a verbal lashing for the hell he put his daughter through during the end of their marriage. And then he asked Randy just what he was going to do to bring Miranda back to life again.

Finally the men brought the steaks inside and the women had everything else all set up at the kitchen table. They sat down and had dinner and laughed and talked. Then they broke out the games and had fun. Miranda's parents loved seeing Miranda and Randy together and happy again. It was definitely a nice, refreshing change to the way it had been towards the end.

And compared to how Miranda was with Christopher, it was a good change. Miranda was real cautious about what she ate around him, and how she talked around him. With Randy she was so much more relaxed and confident.

Around nine o'clock, Miranda's phone rang. She could tell by the ringtone that it was Christopher. She excused herself from the game and grabbed her cell phone and ran upstairs.

"Hello?" She answered.

"Where the hell are you now?" Christopher hissed into the phone.

"I'm at Mom and Dad's." She replied irritated. "Why?"

"Did you get the message I left on your house phone?" He asked impatiently.

"No, I haven't been home yet, what's up?"

"I need your checking and savings account information. I am in the middle of a few business transactions and I just need to store some cash there for a week until they're finalized." He replied non-chalantly.

"What? No. I'm not giving you that information." She answered.

"DON'T TELL ME NO. YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW IMPORTANT THIS IS." He screamed into the phone.

"And you have no idea what you just lost. Christopher, we're through. Don't call me again, don't email me. From now on don't even remember I'm alive." Miranda said angrily. She hung up the phone and oddly enough she felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted off her shoulders.

On her way back downstairs her phone rang again. She sighed and answered to the sound of him screaming at her. "Listen to me you stupid bitch. NOBODY walks away from me. We all know that the ONLY thing your good at is leaving when the going gets tough, but I'll be damned if I let you walk away from me."

The words hit her hard. She hated to admit it, but his words hurt. She quickly ran back up the stairs. Tears stung her eyes, "Listen. I'm only going to say this one more time. We're through. Leave me alone." And she hung up the phone. She wiped her eyes and sniffled. Hoping she didn't look like a complete mess, she walked back to the table.

Miranda sat down, and she could feel all eyes were on her. "My turn?" She asked, hoping her voice wasn't too trembling.

As she took her turn, her phone began to ring. She grabbed it and turned it to vibrate. Every couple minutes it kept going off. She rolled her eyes and turned it all the way off.

They finished the game and Miranda looked over at Randy. "I hate to cut this short, but I have to work in the morning. Are you ready to go home?"

Randy nodded. He looked over at Carol and Greg, "Thanks for dinner and game night you guys, it was really fun."

"Thanks for coming Randy. It was great seeing you again." Carol said warmly.

Everyone exchanged hugs and handshakes and finally Miranda and Randy set out to head home.

Randy looked over at Miranda, "Are you ok?"

Miranda nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Miranda shook her head, "Nope."

Randy smiled and turned up the radio a bit to ease the tension. Things had been going so great before Christopher called. He knew that he needed to respect Miranda's relationship. But he was really beginning to hate what he was putting Miranda through.

Miranda pulled into Randy's driveway and parked. They got out and Miranda went over to her car and put the dishes in the back. She had decided she wasn't going to tell Randy just yet that she had broken up with Christopher. At this point she really needed to just re-group and get herself back together. They hadn't dated long, and she certainly wasn't devastated, but there was so much confusion around the way he was acting and the information he wanted from her and why he wanted it that she really just needed to have some space.

Randy pulled her into his arms and held her close, "Tonight was really great Carebear."

Miranda smiled and nodded, "Yeah it was. Good food, fun times."

"Can I call you tomorrow?" Randy asked.

Miranda smiled and nodded, "Yeah, you can."

Randy leaned down and kissed her good night. "Good night Carebear." And he headed inside.

Miranda drove home and headed right for bed. Tomorrow was the beginning of the work week and the wedding week.

**Uh-oh…Christopher's motives were beginning to show through a bit…Joe had been pretty determined to get Miranda away from him….what will Monday morning bring? Please read and review!**


	9. Chapter 9

The next morning Miranda woke up and wandered into the kitchen to start the coffee. She glanced over and saw the machine light blinking. She sighed and pushed play. The messages were from Christopher. And you could tell when they were before the break up and after the break up. The final message was the most chilling.

"Listen bitch, if you think that you can just walk away and leave me and think that I won't bring you down in flames, you've got another thing coming. I know where you sleep, I know where you eat, I know your every little move and don't THINK for one second that I'm just going to let bygones be bygones. You had better look both ways before you cross the street, you had better be careful starting and driving your card and you'd better damn sure think before you speak because at any minute, you could be gone."

Miranda shivered. He had a temper, but now was he seriously threatening her? Or was he just pissed off and venting? She shook her head and went upstairs to get ready for work. She turned on the shower and stepped in. Last night had been really great until the whole breaking up with Chris happened. It just soured her mood for the evening. And now with these weird messages…she knew she needed the day to start off good and make the week even better. It was a short work week, Thursday night after work she'd be flying out to Boston for Liz's wedding.

By the time she finally finished getting ready the coffee was done. She poured it into her favorite to go mug and added her cream and sugar. Then she grabbed a Pop-Tart and her purse and headed to work. On the way she let herself space all of Chris's psycho messages, and concentrated on the fun she had with Randy all weekend. Plus it was nice to be with someone who actually liked spending time together and with family.

Monday mornings were always busy, so she was far too busy at work to even think about anything but work. Right before noon she was in the back putting gowns away when she heard the door. "I"ll be right with you!" She called.

When she walked out, Randy was standing there leaning against the counter looking cocky as ever, but holding a bouquet of flowers. "Hey Carebear."

Miranda smiled, "What are you doing here?"

"I just thought I'd stop by and see how your Monday is going." He said with a smile. "I'm on my way back to the doctor's office so they can take more x-rays to compare and see what's going on. And how long I'll be out of action."

"I'm just getting ready to go home for lunch. I'll bring them home and put them in a vase and they can brighten up my kitchen."

"Any chance you'd wanna do pizza, beer and Raw tonight?" Randy offered. "Your place or mine works fine."

Just as she was about to respond, a look of concern crossed her face. "We'll see. I'll get back to you."

"He comes back into town today, doesn't he?" Randy asked.

She nodded. Randy still had no idea that they had broken up. She didn't want to get him involved in the mess if she didn't have to. Plus, she wanted to be able to take her time and move at her own pace with their rekindling relationship. "Yeah, he does."

"Look, how about this. I'll stop back here after my appointment and you can let me know. How's that?"

Miranda nodded, "Yeah, that should work."

He put his sunglasses back on and smiled, "Well I'm glad you liked the flowers. And by the way, your mom called my mom first thing this morning to tell her about what a great time we had last night. So now my parents have invited us over for dinner. We just have to tell them what night of the week works best. And mom would prefer before we go to the wedding."

She burst out laughing, "Boy they waste no time do they?"

He shook his head no. "They sure don't." Then he leaned across the counter, "Can I kiss you goodbye?"

Miranda bit her bottom lip and smiled, "If you want to."

And he kissed her sweetly. "I'll see you soon."

Miranda smelled her flowers as he left. She couldn't help but smile. She had to admit, he was definitely doing things right so far. She waited for the last patient to arrive before her lunch. Then she grabbed her flowers and flew home.

Randy parked and walked towards the chiropractor's office. He glanced around, but he didn't see Miranda's car anywhere. He walked inside and looked around. She wasn't at the desk, and there was just a sign that said "Please have a seat, I'll bet with you shortly." And it had the doctor's name on it.

"Miranda?" He called out quietly. The office wasn't very big, it was only the doctor and her there all day long besides the patients. He grabbed his phone and tried calling her cell phone, but there was no answer. Then he also tried the house phone, but there wasn't any answer there either.

Randy walked out of the office confused. He began to head home, but then remembered she had said that she would be going home for lunch to put the flowers in a vase. He quickly turned around and headed to Miranda's house.

The apartment building that Miranda lived in was almost more like townhomes. There was one large parking lot and then there were separate entryways for each unit. He drove to the end of the lot and found Miranda's car. The door to her unit was wide open. Randy ignored the pain and ran inside and then stopped in his tracks. The flowers he had given her were scattered on the floor. Her purse was thrown off to the side and everything in it was all over the floor. The apartment was trashed as if someone broke in. "MIRANDA!" He called out frantically.

Randy was mumbling swear words as he ran through the place. Every room was trashed, even the bathroom. And there weren't any traces of her anywhere. As he ran back to his truck to grab his cell phone to call 911, he stopped and dropped to his knees. On the ground by the driver's door was her cell phone, half kicked under the car. He didn't touch it, he got up and with tears streaming down his face he ran and grabbed his cell phone and called 911. Upon their answer he cried, "I need your help. My ex-wife has been kidnapped."


	10. Chapter 10

**Wow! Thank you for the wonderful reviews! You guys really make my day! Now, sit back and prepare yourselves. **

Word travelled fast that something had happened at the apartment complex. Randy was beside himself while answering questions. All he wanted was to find her, hold her in his arms, and never let her go again.

A silver Lexus pulled in the parking lot and Christopher leapt out. "Oh my God, what's going on? Where's Miranda?" He asked frantically.

The police quickly went over to him and pulled him aside. Christopher was going on and happened to look around and noticed Randy sitting there. "What the Hell is he doing here? He's probably the reason she's missing."

One of the officers looked at Christopher, "Why would you say that?"

"Because he is her ex-husband. He is horribly jealous of the fact that she's moved on with me. We have a wonderful relationship that is going strong and has threatened us before."

The officer leaned closer and began to take notes. "Do you think he's capable of following through on those threats?"

Christopher nodded with a very concerned look on his face, "He is a professional wrestler with a history of anger issues. He's attacked fans, he's destroyed hotel rooms, he's been suspended for sexual harassment and he has a history of drug and alcohol abuse. He was overheard saying that if he can't have her back, then no one will be able to have her." Christopher began to have tears in his eyes, "How will I ever forgive myself for letting him get to her?"

The officer patted his shoulder, "We'll find her Chris, don't you worry. And we won't let him get away with this."

When Miranda's parents arrived, Randy went over to them. Carol hugged him and broke down crying. Greg looked absolutely lost. Chris stood over by the authorities sending daggers towards them. He knew what he needed to do…he just had to get it done.

The main investigators on the case walked out shaking their heads. Chris had an idea. He knew how to get the authorities to do what he needed them to do.

Chris went walking over by where Randy was standing. As he strolled by he casually said, "Kidnapper."

Randy's head shot up and he looked over at Chris, "What did you say to me asshole?"

Christopher looked at him squarely, "I called you the kidnapper. You just couldn't handle me being the one making her happy could you?"

"You just keep telling yourself that you psychotic son of a bitch. While you were off doing God knows what, I was lying in bed with her. I heard all of those things that you said to her and I'll be damned if I'm going to sit here and watch you play all your fucking mind games."

"How dare you sit her and accuse me of having anything to do with this? What the hell is your problem?"

Randy couldn't hold himself back, he lunged towards Chris. Soon the officers were pulling them apart. Randy was yelling out in pain because of his back and Chris didn't wait a second to pounce on the opportunity.

"What did I tell you? This guy is violent. He needs to be stopped." Christopher shouted.

Kim got to the complex and leaped out of her car. "What's going on? Where's Miranda?"

Randy looked at the officers, "I'm fine, I won't touch him. Just please let go of me. I messed up my back and I can't take this."

The officer in charge nodded his head and they released Randy. Randy turned to Kim, "She's gone."

"What do you mean she's gone?" Kim asked frantically. She turned to Chris, "What the fuck are you doing here? She dumped you."

Randy, Chris and the officers looked at her and began asking questions. The lead investigator came over and walked away with Kim. Leaving everyone else pondering what she was talking about.

**Meanwhile…**

Miranda awoke and found herself in a small, dark room. She frantically felt around, but couldn't see anything to try and find anything. She ran her hand along the wall praying for a light switch but found nothing.

She sat down and began to cry. She had a killer headache, she was scared to death and her whole body hurt. Miranda began to scream and cry and hit the walls.

All she could remember was walking into her apartment and then waking up here, in the dark room. What was going to happen to her? Where was she? Would she ever see anybody ever again?

Randy stepped away from everyone and called Joe. When Joe answered, Randy didn't even give him enough time to say the word hello. "You need to tell me everything you know about Chris and I need to know about it now."

"What are you talking about?"

"Miranda's missing. Her apartment was broken into and she's gone. Chris is trying to tell the officers that I'm the main suspect. Kim is saying that Miranda broke up with him last night, but he's saying that's not true."

"Shit…fuck…Slow down Randy." Joe interjected. "Give the phone to the lead investigator. I need to talk to him right away."

Randy walked over to the investigator, "Excuse me, Detective Murdoch? I have Chris's brother Joe on the phone and he'd like to speak to you. He has some important information for the case."

Detective Murdoch took the phone and got into a car for some privacy. Soon he was nodding his head and jotting down notes. He was relieved to see that most of what Joe was saying matched up with what the missing girl's best friend Kim had been saying. But Joe had a lot more information.

He made a few calls that Joe had advised him to make and made the necessary arrangements. Then he got out of the vehicle. He walked over to the lead officer, "I need both of them taken into protective custody. There is going to be some backlash, but we need to do this for the time being."

Soon both Randy and Chris were being put in the back of separate squad cars. Both looked completely scared and concerned.

By the end of the night that night, there was a HUGE crowd gathered around the front door of Miranda's apartment unit. She was still missing and the authorities were keeping pretty mum on things. Kim had arranged for candles and prayers to be said. Miranda's parents had made a statement to the local news begging whoever had her or knew where she was to please come forward.

Randy was in a private holding cell. He had been questioned up one side and down the other. They had taken names and numbers of everyone he could supply them with to verify their whereabouts all weekend long. Leading right up till he left her work.

Christopher was also in a private holding cell. They had gone round and round with questioning. He wouldn't budge on his stance. He insisted he had nothing to do with it. That he was the victim. She chose to return to her abusive ex-husband and ran away with him. They had staged the whole thing. Why else would all of the important electronic items be missing? Her laptop, desktop computer and cell phone were all missing. He didn't know that her cell phone was found by Randy half under her car.

Finally the officers finally called it a night. Neither one was saying anything about her whereabouts and it was frustrating them.

Miranda was beginning to freak out. She couldn't handle the unknown. She tried as hard as she could to remember every little detail she could.

That night was the longest night EVER. By morning, Miranda could tell that she must be in a basement room somewhere because there was a little bit of light coming in from an egress window. She looked around, and there was nothing in the room except her. No food, no water, no blankets, nothing. Overnight she couldn't hold it any longer, she had to go to the bathroom, so she went to a far corner and peed.

But now she was so thirsty and so hungry. Her head was killing her. Her mouth was dry and she felt a bit dizzy. Miranda was beginning to get nervous. What if they never find her? Was she going to die like this?

The next morning Christopher was being awoken by two Federal agents walking into his cell. They informed him that he and his business were being raided as they spoke. They provided him with the search warrants and all of the legal paperwork that was required.

Agent Thompson took a step towards him, "We've been watching you. Is there anything that you would like to say to us right now?"

"Not without my lawyer." Christopher replied angrily.

"Fine. We'll get him here." Agent Rogers answered. And the two walked out slamming the cell behind them. They needed a complete listing of all of his properties so they could perform as many searches as possible. But he was refusing to cooperate without a lawyer present.

Around noon, Randy received the news that he was being released and that he was not allowed to leave town at this point. They still had no traces of Miranda.

Randy's parents picked him up and brought him to Miranda's place. He walked over to Kim and held her. "Where is she? What did that asshole do to her?"

"Did you hear? He's being arrested on being the head of a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme? Apparently there's all sorts of charges. They're conducting searches and seizures of property throughout all of his properties." Kim said to Randy as she held him.

"I can't take this. I want her found. I want her home safe and sound. I want to hold her and never let her go and protect her from this fuckhead." Randy mumbled.

"I know…I know." Kim replied as she patted his back.

**What are you guys thinking? Please read and review!**


	11. Chapter 11

Miranda began to pace. In the dim light she was able to see a few reasons why her body ached. She had bruises on her arms and legs. Her head still heart, and it was tender on her forehead, it felt like there had been a cut or something, but there weren't any mirrors for her to look in. Her wrist ached and throbbed, moving her fingers hurt. Her neck ached…and it was tender to the touch.

As she paced she began to worry. Pacing hurt, but it made her feel a little better. She thought about her life as a whole. From as far back as she could remember, she thought about school, boyfriends, Randy and her marriage. Then the falling apart of their marriage. She thought about what would have happened if she would have stayed. Although, if what he was saying is true, the divorce finalizing is what really kicked him into gear in wanting to get better. He wanted to go back to being the guy he used to be…and he was succeeding. Miranda began to think about Christopher. There were many red flags, but none that she paid attention to. She was bound and determined to pave her own way in life, and she stuck to her guns and look where it got her. Now she was kicking herself for not saying anything to Randy about Christopher's messages. There was no doubt in her mind that it was him. He had the only other key to her place, and the door looked fine when she got there. She was faintly recalling a slight argument before blacking out, but maybe it was only her imagination.

Maybe running into Randy at the restaurant that night was a sign of sorts, showing her that she belonged with Randy? Maybe the only way either of them would ever truly appreciate what they had was to be apart for those few years? Then it hit her…Liz's wedding! Would she be found in time to still be there? Would she still be alive by then? There weren't any sounds coming from anywhere…was she all alone? Would she get water? She knew from being a girl scout that you could go for longer without food then you could water, how long had she been there?

She couldn't help but slink to the ground and sob. She began to think about what she wanted out of life…if she was chosen to still have one. She thought about what her funeral would be like. How would her parents handle it if they lost their only child? Miranda prayed. Then she got mad. She got to her feet and began to kick and pound on the doorway as hard as she could and she screamed like hell. Somewhere, somebody would have to hear her….right?

Randy's entire family had come out to the apartment complex by mid-morning. Kim and her boyfriend Neil along with Randy and his family and Miranda's family were all joining a search party. There was such a good turnout of volunteers.

Kim grabbed Randy, "Ok, I seriously think Christopher is completely behind this. We have to think about places that he and his family either own, manage or anything on or around."

"Liz was saying something when we were all out that he lives at the country club." Randy suggested.

Kim nodded, "He does. But the police are already searching there."

They began to compile a listing of places, but with the federal agents doing their search and seizure, it was hard to find places that they would be allowed to go to. Plus if it was anywhere business-related, they would have to get permission. So they decided to go along with the search and rescue teams.

The day dragged on slowly, they weren't finding anything. Randy was beside himself. All he wanted to do was to pummel Chris into talking. His temper was flaring, he was getting a bit testy. Miranda's family was completely devastated. Kim's hope was beginning to fade. It had been over 24 hours. That was NEVER a good sign.

Chris's brother Joe arrived to the jail around dinner time, where Christopher was being held. The federal agents had been working with Joe for almost six months to bring him down. Joe had been the one to blow the whistle on Christopher's whole Ponzi scheme. Until Christopher went to trial, they promised Joe that he would not find out the truth. Now he knew he needed to try and talk to Chris to see if he could get him to say anything about Miranda.

He walked into the interrogation room and sat down at the table with Chris.

"What are you doing here?" Christopher asked Joe. "I thought you wanted nothing to do with me, remember?"

"You know why I'm here. We might not always see eye-to-eye, but we're brothers. Now what happened? What's going on?" Joe asked innocently.

Chris shook his head, "Shit got out of hand. I got greedy, I made some bad business deals and it caught up with me. Had the stupid bitch given me her information I would have been able to get rid of the bulk of the money."

"Miranda? She's in on your business?" Joe asked.

"Fuck no. I didn't want her anywhere near it. She's too much of a goody-goody. There's no business sense in that woman's head. I just wanted her information so I could transfer the money and she wouldn't do it."

"So you got upset?" Joe prodded.

"What are you trying to say?" Chris angrily retorted.

"Look, all I'm saying is that right now, you're facing a lot of charges, but they're mainly white collar charges. Minimum-security prison is what you're looking at. But if you add kidnapping and murder charges, you'll never see the light of day." Joe tried to reason with him.

"So you think I did it?" Chris asked.

"I'm just saying that you made the threatening phone calls and left the threatening messages…"

"Why the fuck would you say that? Where would you get such stupid ideas? Why would I threaten her, she was cheating on me, remember?" Chris yelled at Joe.

"Because Kim told the police that Miranda called her after listening to the messages and she didn't know what to do next." Joe replied. "And Kim has no reason to lie."

"Kim's another bitch that Miranda should have severed ties with long ago. But no, she insisted on running around with them. Your stupid group from high school…And now look where it got her."

"Where did it get her Chris?" Joe prodded.

The two brothers went round and round about the messages and the threats. Just as Joe and Chris were screaming at each other, finally Chris slammed his hand down on the table. "That stupid bitch got what she deserved. She fucked up. I snapped and I lost it and now she'll never forget what happens when you fuck with me."

Joe snapped to attention, "What did you say?"

Chris broke down crying, "I snapped. I knew I was going to get busted, something was off. People were acting funny. They knew. So I called Miranda, and we got into a huge fight and she broke up with me. I had a feeling she was running around with Orton. When she told me they had dinner, I knew it would be over. I never thought she'd be the one to cheat though. So I lost it. I kept calling and calling. I figured if I was going down, she was going to go down with me. SO I flew home and I went to her apartment. I was going to set the place on fire, but she came home for lunch. I wasn't prepared for that. I panicked; I didn't know what to do. She came inside and I was trying to hide, but she found me. We started to fight, but she tried to fight back and I started to hit and kick her. Finally I kicked her in the head and she blacked out. Then I grabbed the chlorophyll and the rag I had brought and I put it over her nose and mouth. I had already trashed the place and I took her computers so they would think it was a robbery. I…I…just snapped. I don't know. Once I felt like she was knocked out from the stuff, I strangled her. Then I rolled her up in a carpet and carried it out to the van."

Joe's heart sunk, "Where is her body?"

Chris wouldn't answer, he just kept crying. He never did apologize, he just cried. Finally Joe screamed at him, "WHERE'S HER BODY?"

"I dumped it in the basement cellar. I was trying to carry her down the stairs, and I dropped her…Her lifeless body tumbled down the stairs and fell out of the carpet. So I pushed her into the room and slammed and locked the door. I threw the key aside and left."

"What basement cellar? Which one? Where is she?" Joe kept prying.

Finally Chris looked up at him, "Out at the old house. There's a little room in the basement we used for a cellar. I brought her body there."

"You and Diana's old house? The one that hasn't sold yet?"

Chris nodded, "Yeah…she's there."

The police came busting through the door of the room. They instantly began to read him his rights and handcuff him. Joe got out of the way and was pulled aside by an agent for the address to the house. They began to dispatch units there. And they also sent someone to advise her family of the confession to their daughters' possible murder.

Miranda laid down on the cold concrete floor. She ached so bad, she was so thirsty, her lips were chapped, and her head was killing her. "This was it." She thought to herself. "This was how she was going to die. Alone in a room." She drifted off to sleep.

The police arrived at the house. There was a van parked in the driveway. They broke the window and found the chlorophyll and rag in the backseat; along with a desktop computer and a laptop computer. They broke the front door down and ran throughout the house. They made their way to the basement. Still lying on the stairs was the carpet Christopher had said her body had been rolled in. At the far end of the basement was the room he had described.

They called out to her, but there was no response. They cut the padlock off since they didn't know where on the other side of the door her body was, and opened the door.

There she was curled into a ball on the floor unconscious. They checked and she had a fast pulse and her breathing was rapid. The paramedics came in and began to work on her. They started her on an iv and noted the various bruises and cuts on her body. She began to wake up and looked around, "Where am I?"

"We're getting you to the hospital. Do you know who you are?" The male paramedic asked.

"Miranda" She replied faintly. "I'm so thirsty."

"We'll get you something to drink."

They wheeled her out to the ambulance and took off to the hospital.

**At the hospital…**

A doctor walked out to the waiting room and walked over to the group gathered for Miranda. Randy and his parents were there, his sister Becky and he husband were there, Kim and Neil were there, Miranda's parents were there along with some other various family members. "Who are Miranda's parents?" He asked.

Carol and Greg stood up anxiously. "We are."

"I'm Doctor Martin. Miranda's doing fine. She's resting now. She was dehydrated and she has a concussion. Her wrist is sprained and she has a lot of bruises. But she's going to be ok. We need to keep her overnight for sure for fluids and observation. We'll see how she does with solid food tomorrow before we can let her go home." The doctor advised.

"Can we go see her? Please?" Carol asked.

The doctor smiled, "Just make sure you take it easy on her, she's been through a lot. If she's tired, let her rest. She's being moved up to room 315 right now, you can go up and see her."

Everyone hugged and cried. The group made their way up to third floor. Carol and Greg walked into the room quietly.

Kim leaned over and hugged Randy, "Our girl's going to be ok."

He hugged her back, "She's a fighter. She wasn't going to give up."

About fifteen minutes later they walked out with a smile. "Randy, she wants to see you." Carol said.

Greg shook his head, "She looks rough though."

Randy stood up and nodded, "Ok. Thank you." And he walked in the room.

There she was…his angel. Lying in the hospital bed she looked so pale. She had a bandage on her forehead, her eyes had dark circles under them. She was hooked up to a few different IVs and her wrist was wrapped up. On her throat you could faintly see where he had tried to strangle her. She had the oxygen tubing in her nose. When she opened her eyes and saw him standing there, she smiled. "Hey stud."

Randy's eyes filled with tears as he went to her bedside. He leaned down and kissed her softly and sat down in the chair beside the bed. "Carebear…I'm so glad you're ok."

"There's so many things I want to tell you…I should have told you." She began to say as she got choked up.

"Shh….right now just rest. Work on getting better." Randy replied as he rubbed her hand.

"Did I worry everyone?" She asked.

"We had search parties out looking for you. Chris confessed and told the cops he killed you." Randy said softly. "Then we found out that they found you alive."

"That's what the doctor said. I can't believe it, he's never been violent like that. EVER. When I broke up with him Sunday night, he snapped." She replied.

"You broke up with him on the phone at your parent's house, didn't you?"

She nodded. "I just didn't want to say anything yet. The next morning, he had left threatening messages on my answering machine, and I deleted them. I figured he was just pissed off and blowing steam. I never thought he'd do something like this."

"Why don't you get some rest. I'm not going anywhere. I'm here for the next six weeks." Randy replied.

"Go eat something, tell everyone I'm ok. I'm going to take a nap." She said as she began to doze off.

He got up and kissed her cheek and walked out of the room to relay her message. He silently thanked God for letting her be ok. Randy didn't know what he would have done had she not been.


	12. Chapter 12

Miranda had been kidnapped early Monday afternoon and was found in the evening of Tuesday night. Randy had been detained from Monday evening till Tuesday morning. In that short time, the media had been running wild. The fact that Randy had been taken into custody as a suspect for the disappearance of his ex-wife had made it all over the country. Christopher had his associates release that Randy had a violent past with Miranda and had been the last one to see her before her disappearance. It was on every radio station, news channel and all over the internet. News travels fast. And people were quick to talk. Now that the truth had finally come out about Christopher's involvement, and Randy's possible re-connection with his ex-wife was definitely newsworthy.

Reporters followed Randy every time he left the hospital to go to physical therapy or when he'd leave physical therapy to go back to the hospital. They were also camped out outside of his house and outside of her apartment. Randy didn't want Miranda worrying about it, so he made sure no one told her. And she didn't want to watch the news because she didn't want to hear about her story or about Christopher's. So he was all good there. Randy bit his tongue; he only ran his mouth about Chris's involvement once. He had told a reporter that Christopher had better feel pretty damn lucky that he's not out on the streets because he would give him what he had coming to him and more. Needless to say, that didn't go over to well. And Randy had been advised to keep his mouth shut.

By the time Thursday morning rolled around, Miranda was feeling pretty good. The doctor had given her the green light to be discharged and permission to fly. She knew Randy was already at physical therapy, so she had called her parents to come and pick her up and take her back to her house. After arguing back and forth about still going to the wedding and whether or not she should go back to her house since it was still a mess, her parents were finally on their way to pick her up.

She called Kim and talked to her a bit. Kim broke the news to her about the reporters. She figured if she was going to be leaving the hospital and going home, she would be seeing them anyways. Kim told her about how they had eaten Randy alive while she was gone. Miranda sighed, "You know, Christopher has no right to talk crap. He has no idea about what kind of a past Randy and I have. He asked me once and I told him that I didn't care to discuss it. I never said anything to him."

Kim replied, "I know, but Chris was trying to cover his own ass. He knew he was going to get nailed, but he wanted the heat off of him."

They talked for awhile longer, but then Miranda's parents arrived at the hospital. After the nurses went over the discharge instructions with Miranda, she was finally released. Leaving the hospital to Miranda was like beginning a new chapter in her life. This time, she vowed to live life for her. Not to prove anything to anyone, not to make anyone else happy, but all in all it was time to make herself happy.

As they left the hospital, there were paparazzi and local media reporters everywhere. They were snapping pictures and asking questions. Finally Miranda held up her hand, "I would like to say that I am eternally grateful to everyone on the St. Louis Police Department, the agents with the FBI and the DEA that were here. I want to say thank you to Joe Gillmore for being there and getting Christopher to confess. I also want to thank everyone who looked for me; I really appreciate you guys not giving up hope. I want to say thank you to Randy Orton who may have be stuck with the label of ex-husband, but above that, he is my soul mate and one of my best friends. Don't believe everything you hear unless it's coming from me. I am not saying anything else at this time. Thank you."

They got into her parents car and drove off. "That was very well stated Miranda." Her father Greg remarked.

She smiled, "Thanks. I needed to clear the air. When Kim told me everything that was going on, I knew I needed to say something."

"Are you sure you want to go to your place honey? It's still such a mess." Her mom asked.

"Yeah, I need to get home, let Liz know I'll be there since my cell phone broke, and then try and figure out my life."

"If you want, we could drop you off at Randy's house? The federal agents still have your computers, so you don't have any of that there." Her dad offered.

"I don't have keys to Randy's house and he's still at physical therapy. Trust me, I'll be fine. I just need to get home." Miranda replied. She needed this time. She needed to see everything and process what had happened.

By the time they arrived at Miranda's house, she was anxious to get inside. She gave the same statement verbatim to the reporters that were waiting outside. Then she went inside and shut the door. There was her house, completely trashed. Her tv was broken, her stereo was thrown off the shelf. Pictures were pulled off the walls, furniture was turned over. Her computers were gone, her answering machine was gone. She grabbed her house phone and left Randy a voicemail letting him know that she was at her place and if he wanted to, he could stop over.

Then she went to her bedroom. Chris had pulled all of her clothes out of the drawers and out of the closet, her jewelry box was dumped over, all of her picture albums were thrown on the floor. The only thing he couldn't get into was her lock box. She walked into her bathroom and everything was a mess. She just wanted to take a normal shower. Since her wrist was only sprained, she just had to take the brace and wrap off and she was able to move it. She got into the shower and took a nice, long, hot shower. When she was done, she pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a tank top. She began to pick up stuff off her floor and she started to pack for Liz's. But as she packed, she picked up the photo album that had her wedding pictures in it.

Randy walked in the house. When he didn't see her right away, he thought maybe she was taking a nap, so he walked to her bedroom and smiled, "Hi honey, I'm home."

Miranda jumped at the sound of his voice. She blushed like a kid who got caught with their hand in the cookie jar. "Sorry it's still a mess. I got a little sidetracked."

Randy went over and kissed her sweetly and sat down on the bed beside her. "First off, you look great. You look like you're feeling a helluva lot better. Second, is that our wedding album?"

Miranda bit her bottom lip, "Yeah it is. And thank you. It was thrown on the floor and when I picked it up, I just had to look through it."

Randy put his arm around her and they flipped through it together. They laughed at the silly pictures and took a brief stroll down memory lane. Once they closed the album, Randy looked over at her, "Are you doing ok?"

Miranda shrugged and put the album back on the shelf. "Yeah, overall I feel a lot better. Right now, it's just odd. It doesn't feel like it could be real. But it is. Everything happened so fast, and was over so fast, but yet it felt SO slow. Being in that basement, it was the longest day and a half EVER. I didn't know if I was going to make it out of there."

Randy took her hand and looked into her eyes, "I thought I might lose you. And when the police told us that in his confession he said that he strangled you and dumped your body here, I…I thought you were gone." His eyes filled with tears and his voice quivered as he spoke.

Miranda looked down and nodded, "I spent a lot of time in that room wondering if I was going to live or die. And what did I have to show for my life? If I died, what would I be missing out on? And the first thing that crossed my mind was you. I wondered if fate put all of us at that restaurant that night for a reason. I mean, Chris NEVER wanted to eat anywhere but the country club. I had been telling myself to keep things to myself and not rush things along, but after everything happened, I realized that life is too short to not say what's on your mind. Randy, I broke up with Chris that night we were at mom and dad's. That's what set him off. But I didn't want you to think I was rebounding. But I have to tell you this. I love you. Randy, I've never stopped loving you."

Randy gently took her in his arms and kissed her sweetly. "You have no idea how much that means to me to hear you say. But right now, I want you to focus on you. You had a near-death experience, and I don't want you to rush into anything because you feel like you need to. I will be here. I'm not going anywhere."

Miranda smiled and held him, "You are so understanding, and thank you. I appreciate that."

"Now, let's get you packed. We have a plane to catch." Randy said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood.

"I'm really nervous though." Miranda said as she began to dig through the piles of clothes all around her room to find what she needed.

"About what?"

"Look at me. What if she doesn't want me in the wedding anymore? I have marks and bruises on my neck and my forehead. What if I'm too much of a mess?" She asked. "I still don't have a cell phone, so I can't send her a picture."

"Carebear, she's happy you're alive and she's overjoyed that you're healthy enough to still make it to her wedding. She knows what you've been through, and she's honored that you would still want to be her bridesmaid. Trust me on this one. She chose you because of the friend that you are to her. Not because of any other reason." Randy replied sincerely.

Miranda took a deep breath, "You're right. I don't know. I'm just…"

"Overwhelmed. Scared. Elated. Happy. One hundred and fifty thousand emotions running wild through you and you don't know where to start, stop or pause. I can only imagine. You've been through a lot. Are you sure you're up for going this weekend?" Randy began to ask, but Miranda quickly interrupted.

"Yes. I have to go this weekend. This is my way of getting back to life. But, I do have a favor to ask of you." She said as she finished packing.

"What's that?"

"Can I stay with you again? In your hotel room? I know the night before the wedding all the girls are crashing in Liz's room. But I mean on the wedding night, after the reception." She asked nervously. As much as she hated to admit it, she wasn't ready to be alone yet.

Randy smiled, "You are more than welcome to stay with me anytime."

She thanked him and gave him a quick kiss. Then grabbed the last of her stuff and they climbed into Randy's truck and headed to Randy's so he could pack. Then they were headed to the airport.

**What will the wedding weekend hold? Randy and Miranda will be walking together in the ceremony… Please read and review!**


	13. Chapter 13

Miranda and Randy arrived in West Newbury, MA late Thursday night, so they headed right over to the hotel. They had changed Randy's reservation to a jacuzzi suite since both of them were sore. They ordered a bottle of red wine, some chocolate chip cheesecake and strawberries dipped in chocolate. Randy turned off all the lights and dimmed the ones above the jacuzzi.

They ran the water and added the bubbles and then just kicked back and relaxed. It was a nice change of pace after all of the craziness that had been going on.

Miranda changed into her swimsuit and climbed in behind Randy and began to massage his shoulders. "So, are you really ready to do all of this?" He casually asked.

"All of what?"

"This. The wedding, the hoopla. Tomorrow night being out with the girls, Saturday is the wedding and then Sunday have brunch and fly back home. Are you up for all of this?" He asked again.

Miranda nodded, "Yeah, I'm not permanently injured or disfigured. I don't want people to walk on eggshells or treat me like I'm a porcelain doll because of what happened. So many worse things have happened to other people, I'm one of the fortunate ones. Yes, I have a few bumps and bruises and stitches, but nothing that won't heal. Technically I'll always have a scar on my forehead and that'll remind me just how lucky I am that I got a second chance."

"That's all true, but we're not talking about other people, we're talking about you." He replied. "And people are going to be concerned and careful about what happened."

"Yeah, I know. I just mean that I really want life to go back to normal. I want to be with my friends and fix up the apartment and go to work, and figure out my lfie again."

Randy turned his body so he could face her without straining his lower back, "What else do you want?"

Miranda blushed and bit her bottom lip, "Things that I told myself I wouldn't rush myself into. What about you?"

He chuckled and leaned into her and kissed her. Miranda slid her arms around him and kissed him back. It felt so good to hold him in her arms and be able to just relax and be honest about her feelings. There was nothing and no one holding her back. Besides, this was just innocent fun...in a jacuzzi...with Randy...the man she was still in love with.

Randy moved back so she could sit on his lap. The reaching and twisting was still a little tough. Miranda straddled his lap as they passionately made out. To feel her body in his arms again, made Randy feel like the luckiest man alive. There was never any doubt, he knew he loved her. And when he reconnected wih her, he was so excited and grateful. Then when she was missing and there was a chance that he'd never see her again. He then made a vow that if she was ok and if they were to work on getting back together, he would make sure that she NEVER had to question his love for her ever again. He wanted them to have not only what they used to have, but everything she deserved to have as well.

As they held each other, and teased at one another, the passion between them was ready to explode. Miranda's head was spinning but in a good way. She tried to tell herself to slow down, but her body was screaming things it hadn't screamed in a long time. And she had only been with Chris four times in the couple months they dated. And to be honest, it wasn't that good either. But this, this was something that felt right in every which way.

Randy began to play with the straps to her bathing suit. He didn't want to rush anything, but damn he wouldn't mind if they did. There was such a fire burning inside of him, not to mention his hard, throbbing erection was reminding him just how badly he ached for her. He longed to touch her and pleasure her in ways that he hadn't in so long.

Miranda arched her back and rolled her hips a bit as she began to kiss his neck and nibble his earlobes. She knew that she told herself not to rush into anything, but dammit she wasn't a baby. And it's not like he was a stranger, they had been a couple since they were 16 years old and had been married for almost 8 years before they divorced. And right now, she wanted him...need him...So she looked into his eyes, "Make love to me Randy." She said breathlessly.

Randy gazed into her eyes, searching for the slightest hint of hesitation. He didn't want to rush her, he wanted everything to be right. "Are you sure?" He asked cautiously. When she nodded and kissed him, he leaned in and kissed her passionately. "I can't carry you out of here." He whispered into her ear.

"Floor or the bed?" She asked.

"Wherever we make it to." He replied as he continued kissing her. And sure enough, they only made it to the floor. And after that, they made their way to the bed...and made love again.

The next morning when the alarm went off, Miranda reached across Randy's chest to turn it off. She smiled to herself as she curled into him. He tightened his grip around her and held her close. "We have to wake up now." She cooed into his ear.

"Mmm...no." He replied with a laugh. "I don't wanna."

"But we have to meet the wedding party for breakfast." Miranda reminded him.

"Hmm...go have breakfast with the wedding party...or lay here with you till tonight?" I like the second one better." He said as he rolled over and began kissing her neck.

Miranda squealed and giggled as she playfully pushed him back, "You're going to hurt your back if you get too frisky."

"Not if you're on top this time." He teased and went back to kissing her.

"Ok, but only a quickie. We'll just be fashionably late." She replied giving into temptation.

And sure enough, one quickie in the bed and one quickie in the shower later, they made their way to the hotel restaurant and met up with the rest of the wedding party...fashionably late.

"Well look who finally decided to join the party!" John called out with a smile.

Liz jumped up happily and hugged Miranda tight. "Oh my God! I'm so glad that you're ok and that you're well enough to be here."

Miranda hugged her back, "Thanks Liz, I'm glad to be here."

"Oooh...I see that you and Randy were a bit busy this morning." Liz teased her.

Miranda looked a little confused, "What do you mean?"

"Well..." Liz said as she reached out and touched a bruise with a few scrapes. "You have a faint hickey."

Randy closed his eyes and silently said "D'oh" to himself. This wasn't going to go over well.

Of course by now Liz had people eyeballing the two of them. Miranda took a deep breath, "It's not a hickey. Those are some of the marks I have from when I was strangled."

Liz's eyes opened wide, "Oh God, I'm sorry!"

Miranda shook her head, "It's ok." She pulled the collar of her shirt away so Liz could see the rest of the marks, although they were fading quickly. "They're marks from his hands, and they do cover with make up pretty well. But I was running late this morning."

"No problem. I'm sorry." Liz said again as she hugged Miranda.

Randy sat down by John and his brothers. "Wassup?"

Soon the awkward tension lifted and the massive group of them were having a blast. Lots of laughter and good times.

As they left, there were a few paparazzi staked out taking pictures. Randy rolled his eyes and put his arm protectively around Miranda. Liz held John's arm and they all made their way back to their rooms.

"So, first we have the rehearsal, then the rehearsal dinner, and then we go to girls night/boys night, right?" Randy asked.

Miranda nodded, "Yup."

"Then we all crash and do the wedding thing, right?"

Miranda laughed, "Yes. Why?"

"Just double-checking."

Miranda stretched, "I think I need a nap before the rehearsal."

Randy climbed into bed and patted the spot next to him. "Come on, let's take a nap."

Miranda climbed in next to him and snuggled up. "This is nice."

Randy nodded in agreement. And soon the two were fast asleep.

The rehearsal went well and the rehearsal dinner was a lot of fun. Finally it was time for the guys and the girls to split and go their seperate ways. John and Liz kissed goodbye and walked away. Randy pulled Miranda aside, "Have fun tonight."

She smiled, "You too. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

He laughed, "Boy does that leave it wide open."

She stuck her tongue out at him and gave him a quick kiss. "See you at the chapel."

"C'mon girl!" Liz called out. "Let's let the good times roll!"

John shook his head and looked at Randy, "Look out, Liz will make sure Miranda has a real good time tonight."

Randy laughed, "Good, she needs a good time out."

"C'mon fellas." John's cousin Marc called out, "Time to hit the clubs."

The ladies also hit some clubs on their own. Miranda wasn't a big drinker, plus she was still a little leery of drinking too much with her concussion. But she still had a great time. They couldn't be too tipsy becuase the wedding was the next day, so after dancing it up and having a few shots, they headed back to the hotel room.

The girls got into their pajamas and decided to have one last drink and girl talk.

Finally Liz looked over at Miranda, "So, what's the deal with you and Randy? Are you guys officially back together now?"

Miranda blushed and shrugged, "We haven't labelled it yet. Right now it just is what it is. I told him I didn't want to rush things, but it's kind of hard not to."

Liz smiled and nodded, "I remember when John and I got back together, we told ourselves this was it. If it didn't work out this time then we were done trying. And now here we are. But you guys have been married before, so would you guys just date or what?"

Miranda shook her head, "I have no clue. We haven't had that talk yet."

"Well whatever you wind up doing, I wish you guys the best. I love seeing the two of you back together."

And after the girls sat up and giggled a bit longer, they all turned out the lights and went to bed. They had to be up at 7am to get ready to go and have their hair and make-up done.

**Tomorrow is the wedding! Randy will be escorting Miranda down the aisle. Not to mention that a lot of John and Randy's wrestling acquaintances would be there. Please read and review!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Happy Valentines Day everyone! Please read and review! **

7am brought a very loud alarm and lots of squeals and screams from the girls room. They were all teasing Liz because it was her wedding day. They all got dressed in comfy clothes and zip-up hoodies and headed out to start the day. The girls headed to the lobby of the hotel and made themselves a bagel to eat on the way.

At the salon they would all be having their hair, make-up and nails done. It was arranged nicely because they could all sit together and gab the time away. Miranda sat down in her chair and the stylist introduced himself. When he was putting the cape on her he noticed the marks and bruises on her neck. "Girrrl…." He said as he peeked, "What were you and your man up to?"

Liz and a few girls looked over nervously…they knew what was coming. Miranda took a deep breath, "They're not from him. I was kidnapped by my ex and he strangled me."

"I'm so sorry!" He gasped. "Don't you worry, we'll get those covered up and you'd never know they were there."

Miranda smiled, "Thanks, I'd appreciate that."

"And we'll see about the stitches on your forehead. We have a flesh-colored bandage we can use and then we'll just style your hair so it covers most of it."

Miranda nodded, "That would be great."

Liz settled back and relaxed. Today was going to be the best day of her life.

As the girls gabbed, they had everything taken care of. A few hours later, they were all finished. They took a few pics for the stylists to display and then left. Now it was off to lunch and then to the chapel to get ready.

By the time the girls arrived at the chapel and got ready, they were already running late. The bridesmaids were helping out with the last-minute things as Liz's mom and sister helped her get into her dress. Miranda was walking through the chapel making sure all of the flowers were put up where they were supposed to be when she heard someone whisper her name. She smiled and turned, and there was Randy smiling at her. He was all decked out in his tux and looking incredibly hot.

Miranda smiled, "Hey stud."

He looked her up and down, and couldn't believe it. She looked great, the bruises were covered up, and he loved seeing her look so happy. "Hey beautiful." And he kissed her sweetly. "How's Liz doing?"

"Let's just say, we're getting ready to do a shot to calm the nerves. She's excited and nervous. How about John?"

"He's a bit nervous that he'll mess up his vows. But we're getting the shots ready also." Randy replied. "You look great."

"You look pretty hot yourself."

"I've gotta run, but I'll see you for pictures." Miranda said as she hugged him and hustled off to report back to the girls.

Randy watched her with a smile on his face.

They did pictures before the wedding, and the photographers took lots of pictures. Posed and un-posed. Randy and Miranda stayed close to each other. Then it was time to line up.

Randy held out his arm for Miranda, "Are you ready?"

She smiled and linked arms with him, "Ready as I'll ever be."

As the music played, they watched the others walk down the aisle to their places, and then it was their turn. As they walked in time, they both looked at each other, smiled and held on a little tighter. Miranda recognized some of the guests as fellow wrestlers from past and present.

Throughout the ceremony, Randy and Miranda would look at each other and smile. As Liz and John were saying their vows, Randy and Miranda were lost in the clouds. They were both thinking about what they had, and then lost, and now were beginning again.

When Liz and John kissed, everyone cheered. Randy and Miranda linked arms and walked up the aisle. Randy leaned over to Miranda, "were you thinking what I think you were thinking?"

She looked at him, "I don't know if I can follow that statement. But I think I was thinking what you think I was thinking and if it's the same as what I think you were thinking, then…I hope so."

He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss as they exited the chapel. They took their place in the receiving line and began to greet the guests and give them their bubbles as they exited.

Then after the newly married couple climbed into their vehicle, the wedding party climbed into the Hummer limo and they all left for the reception.

**At the reception…**

After the meal, it was time to get the party started! John's cousin Marc was dj'ing and he was spinning some killer tunes! The dancefloor was hoppin'! Randy and Miranda were floating around mingling. Both of them were feeling sore, so they were only dancing to the slow stuff.

Randy introduced Miranda to a few people she didn't know yet.

Randy noticed Vince was waving them over, so he patted Miranda's arm, "Vince wants to talk to me. Wanna join us?"

"Sure." And she walked with him.

Vince greeted them with a smile and gave Miranda a hug. "It's nice to see you're doing well." Vince said genuinely to her.

Miranda smiled, "Thanks sir. It's good to see you again."

"Grab a seat you two, I wanted to talk to you about something." Vince said gesturing to the chairs across from him.

Randy looked over at Miranda and winked. "Sir, sounds like we're going into a meeting."

Vince nodded, "Yes, a makeshift meeting. I want to propose an idea to you. And I'm glad you're both here."

They sat down. Randy asked, "What kind of idea?"

Vince clasped his hands together, "Well, we'd like to put out a Viper dvd set. Highlighting the highs and lows of your career so far. We want to make this in-depth though, not just about the matches. We want to do interviews with family, friends, and fellow superstars."

Randy nodded, "Sounds great Vince, I'm honored."

"Well, you've worked hard to get back on top and you've kept your nose clean and your shit straight and it's time to be rewarded. But…I want to run something past you."

"What's that?" Randy inquired.

"I want this to talk about the lowest of lows. When you were abusing drugs and overdosed at home and Miranda found you and saved your life. When you were runnin' with a bad crowd, the turmoil it caused which eventually led to the demise of your marriage. And now that you're straight you've been able to rekindle things and you're working towards rebuilding your foundation together." Vince proposed.

Randy looked hesitant, "I don't know Vince." And he looked over at Miranda. He could see in her face and her eyes that she wasn't too sure about the idea either. "I mean, that's awfully private."

"It's private, but it's the blatant, honest-to-God truth."

"But that's a lot to relive. And I don't want Miranda to suffer any kind of backlash because of the divorce." Randy said shaking his head. "And that's putting her out there for the world to see."

"Randy with the internet, all anyone needs is her name and they'll be able to find her Twitter, her Facebook, pictures from old MySpace accounts, hell, even her yearbook photos. There is no such thing as privacy anymore, so why not embrace it and just open up and be honest. Let everyone see you for who you truly are. It'll help to build your fanbase." Vince argued. He wanted this done, and he knew he wasn't going to take no for an answer.

Randy looked over at Miranda, "Want to talk about this?"

She nodded.

"Look, we'll discuss it and I'll let you know by Monday." Randy replied.

"Good, because I want to work out the details and set up time to film. But I want to start filming the actual current footage after you're fully recovered. But we can start with the side interviews as soon as you say go." Vince said reaching across the table and shaking Randy's hand.

"Yes sir. I'll call you Monday." Randy and Miranda got up from the table and headed off to get a drink.

As the night passed, they spent time with lots of people, but they also spent a fair share on the dance floor in each other's arms. For Miranda, it was kind of surreal. Being there with a lot of the friends they hung around with when they were married. Looking at it now, she couldn't even imagine if she had brought Chris to the wedding. They were a rowdy bunch who at times could be very raunchy as well. She loved it, she loved them. There was an overwhelming sense of self when she was with all of them. There was no act to put on, or role to play, she could let her hair down and just be herself.

It was getting to be the end of the night, and they were back out on the dance floor. Randy looked into her eyes, "I love you Miranda."

She smiled and gazed back, "I love you too Randy."

"Wanna go upstairs?" He asked with a wink.

Miranda smiled and nodded.

He took her by the hand, they went around and said their goodbyes and headed off upstairs.

Once they were in their room, they both stripped down and got into the hot tub. Miranda didn't feel too bad, but Randy was quite sore. Being on his feet almost all day had certainly taken a toll on his lower back. He put his arm around her and they snuggled in the hot tub.

"Carebear, can I ask you something?" He asked quietly.

"Of course."

"I know we're not rushing things, and I love where we're at, but it makes introductions hard. What should I introduce you as? Where are we at?"

Miranda shrugged her shoulders, "I…I don't know. I thought about that too. Now that we are where we are, where are we? Where do you want to be?"

Randy laughed, "Don't ask me that, because you won't like my answer."

She looked at him funny, "What do you mean by that?"

Randy shook his head, "Where do you want to be?"

Miranda sighed, "I don't know. I mean, I know I told myself I wanted to go slow, but it's really hard to move slow with someone you've been with for so long and because we used to be married."

"I know. I mean, to be totally honest, I say let's go balls to the wall and be back together. Let's be us again. But, on the flip side of that, I don't want to move so fast that we don't enjoy it."

Miranda laughed, "Who would have thought this would be the difficult part?"

"No shit. Hey, when we get home tomorrow, do you wanna have dinner at my folks's house? They are still waiting to have dinner with us." Randy asked.

"Yeah, sure. I'd like that."

They stayed in the hot tub for a bit longer, and then dried off and went to bed. They snuggled into one another and fell asleep.

The next morning they woke up and met with the wedding party downstairs for breakfast. Then everyone was heading to the airport to all go their separate ways. John walked over to Randy, "Wassup?"

Randy shook his head, "Nadda. How about you? How did it feel to consummate your marriage?"

"Ha, wouldn't you like to know." John teased. "How about you guys? You doin' alright?"

"Yeah, real good. We just don't know where to go from here." Randy said with a laugh. "So for now we're just going to head home and resume life. Miranda's got a lot to square away and I'll be rehabbing my back, so for now I don't think we're going to have to label it."

"Nice." John started to say but then got summoned by his new bride.

Randy headed back to the table. Everyone ate and laughed and told funny stories about the reception the night before. Lots of good memories were made that night.

On their way back to the room, Randy wrapped his arm around Miranda and pulled her in for a kiss. Miranda kissed him back lovingly. He slid his hand into hers as they walked down the hall.

"Randy, is that you?" He heard a familiar female voice ask.

He stopped and turned around. There was a woman that he had known a few years back. Her name was Claudia and she was one of the last girls Randy had cheated on Miranda with. He smiled, "Hey Claudia."

She smiled, "It's good to see you. I know it's been a long time."

He nodded, "Yes it has. Claudia, this is Miranda. Miranda, this is Claudia." He said awkwardly. God he couldn't believe this was happening to him. What had he done to deserve this?

Claudia shook Miranda's hand, "It's nice to meet you Mrs. Orton. I've heard a lot of great things about you."

Miranda tried not to look confused, "Thanks…"

"I'd love to chat, but we have a plane to catch," Randy said quickly. "But it was good seeing you too."

Claudia smiled, "No problem. Bye now!" And she walked off.

Miranda looked at Randy, "Who was she?"

Randy took a deep breath, "Someone I knew a few years ago."

She looked at him waiting for a more in-depth answer.

He looked uncomfortable, "She was…um…well…just a girl I knew."

Miranda sighed, "She was someone you hooked up with?"

He nodded solemnly.

"And she has no idea about what all has happened since the two of you hooked up, so she thinks I'm still the clueless wife who has no idea, right?"

Randy nodded again. "I'm sorry."

"Randy, it's in the past. Let me guess, you haven't seen her since the two of you had your thing. Right?"

"Right."

"Then it is what it is. We're past that." Miranda said shrugging her shoulders. "I can't hold it against you now. I already did, we got divorced."

Randy smiled, "Thanks Miranda." And he kissed her.

"The few girls I've ever seen that he cheated on me with were all so skinny and so pretty…how the hell do I hold up to that?" She thought to herself. It's the one thing that she always said she'd do something about, but never did. Maybe it was time to make a change herself. Maybe she'd start working out at the Y. But she didn't want to tell Randy. She didn't want him thinking she was doing it for him. This was something she wanted to do for her, and to surprise him with.

They got back to the room and packed up the last of their things. Then headed off to the airport. It was time to go back to reality, back to real life. And see just where this life was going to take them.

**What will life bring them? Where will they go from here? You just never know what might come along…Please read and review! Let me know what you guys see…or think….THANKS!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Happy Friday everyone! Sorry for the delay, but I actually had to work at work. LOL! Have a great weekend!**

The last three weeks had been a bit tumultuous trying to get into a routine, while trying to not move too fast. But, at last, they finally fell into one. Monday nights became Orton family dinner nights. They'd go over to Randy's parents to watch Raw and chill out with his family. Tuesdays were relax at Miranda's house night. Wednesday and Thursdays were up in the air. They spent one of the nights having dinner with Miranda's parents and the other having their own time. Fridays were pizza and beer night at Randy's while they watched Smackdown. Then the weekend was spent doing whatever or however. And Sundays were family barbecue day. Meaning both sides got together and had a big potluck barbecue.

And they had established a daytime routine. Miranda would get up every day at 4:30 a.m. and head to the Y. Then she'd workout for two hours, shower, and get ready for work. Then she'd try to get off of work early so she could squeeze in one more exercise class before Randy was done with his appointments. Randy's days were spent at the gym and going through his physical therapy.

Both Randy and Miranda both loved it. Things were going SO well. They had a wonderful routine going, and even though it would change dramatically once Randy went back on the road, they sure were enjoying it while they could.

Today was Friday, and it was girl lunch time. So Miranda headed to her usual lunch spot to have Chinese food with her best friend Kim. When she got there, Kim was already at their table.

"I ordered you a Mountain Dew. How's it going? Can you believe you guys have been back together for three weeks already?" Kim asked as Miranda sat down.

Miranda shook her head, "No, I can't. And thank you, it's going really well. I honestly can't believe just how much he's changed." She said with a smile. "It's been a really long time since I've been this happy."

"You look like a totally different woman. I love seeing the smile on your face. And I can tell you've been working out."

Miranda smiled happily, "Thanks. I've lost 11 pounds in the last three weeks. I can't believe that Randy's going back on the road in two weeks."

"No kidding! This time has flown by SO fast." Kim replied. "And that's why I want to ask you guys something."

"What's up?"

"I know it's a little short notice, but…would you guys like to join Neil and I in the Bahamas?" Kim asked nervously.

"What? Wow! Are you sure you want us there? Isn't this your romantic getaway?" She knew that Neil was going to propose to Kim on the vacation, so she didn't want to intrude.

"Well…it could be the last big hurrah before Randy goes back on the road. And, you know the bromance that the boys have, Why should we come between them?" Kim replied with a giggle. "So, do you think Randy would want to?"

Miranda sent Randy a text to see what he thought.

"While we wait for his response." Kim said passing the cream cheese wontons to Miranda. "What do your parents think of the two of you being back together?"

"Oh my god, are you kidding me? Both sets of parents are ecstatic. We have dinner over at his parents once a week, then at mine once a week, and then Sundays are family day and everyone gets together. Randy's siblings even try and make it as much as possible. It's a really great time. Honestly, I feel like we're married all over again."

As the girls began having intimate girl talk, Miranda's phone went off. She looked and Randy had text back "Sure, why not?"

Miranda squealed and turned the phone around, "He said yes!"

"Couples getaway here we come!"

Kim squealed happily and clapped her hands, "Oh my God I can't wait! You're so going to rock in your bathing suit! You've already lost eleven pounds. And to think that there's still a week to go."

Miranda rolled her eyes, "Thanks, but it's so hard! I've been portion controlling my ass off. Randy figured that I'm working out, and that went over better than I thought. He just wants me to be careful. I promised him I would and I'm not denying myself anything, I'm just cutting way back. But now I have to not look like a whale in my bathing suit!"

The girls giggled. As they ate lunch, they talked about going on vacation together and various things. They planned out different activities they wanted to try, shopping for the trip, and everything else that came up. Girls lunch was always a good time.

Then after lunch, Miranda headed to the nearest drug store. She picked up her birth control pills, pads, tampons and then went to the weight loss aisle. She looked through the weight loss drugs. She had sworn she would never take anything, but now she had to look good and fast. Especially since Randy would be medically cleared to return to the ring the week they got back from vacation.

So she picked out a few different ones and some vitamin supplements. Then she grabbed a new pair of sunglasses and a big bottle of water. She vowed from here on out that she was only going to drink water and milk for the next week. It was time to kick this weight loss stuff into high gear.

She left the drug store, took a handful of her new pills and headed to the Y. Two hours later, she drove to Randy's house. When she walked in the door, Randy looked up at her and smiled, "Hey babe! How was your lunch date?"

Miranda smiled, "It was great. I can't believe that you actually said yes."

Randy pulled her onto his lap and kissed her. "Are your muscles trembling?"

Miranda smiled and nodded, "Yup, isn't it great? God, no wonder why you work out all the time!" She replied very quickly and excitedly. " I did an hour on the treadmill, a half hour on the elliptical and then I worked my core for another half hour."

Randy looked concerned, "Are you on speed? And didn't you already go to the gym today?"

"No, I'm not on speed. And I went to the gym this morning, but then I splurged on the Chinese food, plus it's pizza and beer night, so I had to be prepared. Plus, now that it's countdown to vacation, I want to kick it up a notch."

Randy shook his head skeptically, "Yeah, but four hours at the gym? That's Biggest Loser crazy. You're still beginning; you need to work your way up."

Miranda laughed, "Trust me, I'm fine. My body will tell me when it's had too much. Besides, I'm being careful and I'm keeping my weights low and my reps high." Miranda said giving him a kiss on the nose. "I've been reading Shape and Self, don't worry…I'm being careful." Then Miranda decided to change the subject, "Did you remember to grab my mail?"

Randy nodded, "Yeah, it's in the kitchen on the table. I need to go down to the basement and look for a box of Nathan's stuff. Wanna help me? I don't know how heavy the boxes will be and they have me on restrictions."

"No problem! Let's go." Miranda turned around to walk towards the basement, but she stumbled a little bit. Her legs were rubbery from the work out and she was real jittery.

"Are you ok?" Randy asked as he reached out for her arm.

"I'm fine, I just got a little dizzy. I must have stood up too fast." She said shaking it off. "Come on, I'm fine."

Randy took a deep breath, "Miranda. Seriously. Hear me out on this, I don't want you to kill yourself working out. I don't mind if you do it because you like it and want to get into shape, but three to five hours at the gym is just crazy. What's the deal? Why are you doing this now?"

Miranda shook her head, "It's nothing. I can't…It's just nothing."

Randy took her in his arms and kissed her, "Babe, talk to me. What's going on? Why are you doing this? I'm worried about you."

Miranda sighed, "I just…I want to…" She shifted her weight and looked down to the ground, "I hate being the fattie with you. Nobody thinks you would stoop to my level. And I guess I just get a little nervous."

Randy's heart sunk, "Carebear…Seriously, I LOVE you for being the woman you are. I don't expect you to lose weight, I don't want you to lose weight and I sure as hell don't give a flying fuck what ANYBODY has to say. You are the woman I love and that's all that matters. And I know I screwed up before, but I don't want anybody but you. You're the only one for me."

Miranda's eyes filled with tears, "But…"

Randy shook his head, "But nothing. I will gladly help you get into shape the right way if that's what you want for you. But I don't want to see you pulling this and hurting yourself just because you are trying to please others or because you think you have to please me. I mean it, I love you."

Miranda smiled and held him, "I love you too."

Randy kissed her sweetly, "No more nonsense. Let's go downstairs."

So they went down to the basement. Miranda figured she could still take the diet pills since she spent the money on them. It couldn't hurt, right? They started digging through boxes and came across all sorts of memories. They found Randy's yearbooks, which of course they had to sit down and look through. They laughed at themselves and at their friends. They found a box marked "Randy's important stuff."

They opened it up and found lots of papers. In the box was their old marriage certificate, his copy of the divorce papers, and his WWE contracts. And unfortunately, there were also copies of the paternity test that had been served on him. Then, there at the bottom of the box Randy squinted and reached in. He pulled something out and closed it in his hand.

"What did you find?" Miranda asked curiously.

"I can't show you." Randy teased.

"Come on…show me….please?" She said as she pulled on his arm.

Randy smirked and put both hands beside his back, "Pick a hand. If you choose correctly, you can see. If you choose wrong then you can't."

Miranda smiled and pointed to his left hand. Randy looked at her and pulled out his hand. He turned it over and opened it. There lying in his hand was her old wedding ring.

Miranda sat back looking at it and held her breath, she hadn't seen it since the day she slipped it off and placed it in the envelope with his house keys, car keys and his bank account information. When she left, she took nothing of Randy's with her. "Wow…"

Randy held it up, "Do you think it still fits?"

Miranda shrugged, "I would have said no, but now that I've lost eleven pounds, it just might."

Randy got a devilish little grin, "Wanna try it on?"

Miranda shot him a look, "Why do you still have it? Do you still have your ring?"

"It's in my box on the dresser. I've never taken it out of there."

"Wait, before we try these back on, I have a question. Did you see anyone when we were divorced? Not like one-night stands, but like anyone seriously?" Miranda questioned.

Randy took a deep breath, "And why are talking about this?"

"Because you that the only real relationship I had was with Chris and you know how that ended."

"This is true." Randy said nodding. "Well, I dated one girl. And I was told when I got out of rehab that I shouldn't jump into a relationship…but I did. And it was a disaster. Otherwise, no."

"Alright, we can go upstairs and try them on."

Randy smiled and took her hand and they hurried upstairs to Randy's bedroom. They opened his box and sure enough, there was his wedding ring.

She took it out and held it up. Randy took her left hand in his and slid the ring on her finger. Miranda smiled and slid the ring back on Randy's finger.

Randy had the biggest smile on his face, "Wow, they look good, don't they?"

Miranda chuckled, "Yeah, they do."

Randy put his arms around Miranda and kissed her…"You know, I've been thinking…"

**Oooh…what's he been thinking? And what's going on with Miranda? Is she seriously over her concerns? Please read and review!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Happy Monday everyone! I hope everyone had a great weekend!**

Miranda looked into his eyes as she stood there perched tightly in his arms. "What have you been thinking?"

He looked at the rings on their fingers, "I think we need to start working our way back to here." He said kissing the ring on her finger. "I know it's going to take awhile, I know we don't want to rush it, but I think we should consider taking our next step."

Miranda smiled cocked her head to the side, "So what do you think our next step is?"

"I think you moving back home would be really great." He said sincerely.

Miranda took a deep breath, "You really want me to move back in? Do you think we're ready for that already?"

Randy smiled and kissed her sweetly, "I think we've been ready for a couple weeks now."

Miranda chuckled, "We've only been officially back together for a month."

"Exactly. I mean, I'm going back out on the road, there isn't a lot of reasoning that I can think of to have us living and maintaining two separate residences." Randy replied.

Miranda thought about it, her lease was coming up anyways, maybe he did have a point? She looked at him, "I know I'm nervous, but I can't hesitate forever. And my lease is up soon. What if I slowly start moving back in?"

"If you want I'll buy out your lease." Randy quickly replied.

She burst out laughing and shaking her head, "You don't give up do you?"

"Nope, never have, never will."

Miranda leaned in and kissed him, "You don't have to do that. I can pay the rent."

"We could just get you moved in now since we'll be gone with Kim and Neil and then I'll be gone…" Randy suggested with a devilish smirk.

"Is there anything you don't have a reason for?" Miranda teased.

"I'm just sayin'"

Miranda playfully rolled her eyes, "Fine, I don't care. I can wait, I'm not in any sort of rush. And I don't need you messing up your back."

"Fuck that, I'll hire movers and we'll have you here tomorrow." Randy replied pulling out his cell phone.

Miranda shook her head again, "You never cease to amaze me."

"If I ever do then I'm not doing my job." Randy replied kissing the tip of her nose.

Miranda turned and went back to the boxes. As they were going through boxes, she noticed one that Randy had opened and then quickly closed and pushed aside. She couldn't help her curiosity.

"What was in there?" She asked.

He shook his head and grumbled "Just papers and past mistakes."

"Randy," She said reaching out and holding his arm, "We're not going to have any secrets, right?"

He hesitated for a moment and then answered, "No, no more secrets."

"Then what's in that box?" She asked again.

Randy sighed and ran his hands over his stubbly head. "Fine, let's find Nathan's box and then I'll tell you about it."

They dug through a few more boxes in silence until Miranda's head popped up, "Found it!"

Randy looked to make sure it was the one they needed and once he confirmed it, he nodded. "Yup, this is it."

Miranda picked it up and they brought it upstairs and Randy text Nathan it was ready for him. Then he looked over at Miranda with a very nervous look on his face. "I don't know how to start."

Miranda brought him out to the living room and sat down with him, "Just say it. Don't beat around the bush, don't try to explain anything first, just say it."

Randy looked incredibly nervous, he was bouncing his leg up and down and took a few deep breaths, "Well, you asked me downstairs if I had been seeing anyone and I told you only the one girl right after rehab and it ended in a disaster, right?"

Miranda nodded.

"Well, her name was Alison. I met her and we hit it off right away. We started off dating and soon she was going on the road with me for weekends and it was good. Then one day I was home and she had class because she was a student at the community college. There was a knock on the door, and it was her dad." Randy said as he stood up and began to pace. "Her dad walked right past me and started asking me about my intentions with his daughter. And I was completely floored, I told him that we were dating, but only dating. I was freshly divorced and I wasn't looking to get married right away again. Then he asked me how I met her. So I explained that I met her down at Champs, she was there with a bunch of girls and I was there with a few of my buddies watching the football game. That's when he shook his head and accused me of lying to him. I told him I had no reason of lying, what was the big deal? The man walked right up to me and poked me in the chest and said, "The big deal is the fact that my seventeen year old daughter is pregnant and you don't even know anything about her."

Miranda felt like her heart stopped, she couldn't catch her breath. "Wh-What?"

Randy nodded, "She used a fake id. Yes she was a student at the community college, but through her high school. She was a junior in high school. Her friends had taken her out on her seventeenth birthday and that's how I met her. I literally threw my head backwards and cried as I began apologizing. I couldn't believe she had lied to me the whole time. I mean we only dated for three months, and I always wore something. I didn't know what the hell to say. Her dad sat down with me and told me that they had talked, and she was going to give the baby up for adoption. She wanted to go to school to be a pediatrician and having a baby right now was the last thing on her mind. But I would have to sign over my rights so she could. Then he made me swear that I would never contact his daughter again or he'd have me in jail faster than I could imagine. So I agreed, got my lawyer and signed over my rights. After that, I never heard from her or her dad ever again."

Miranda was shocked, she didn't know what to say. "So did you sign your rights over before or after the baby was born?"

"Before. She had needed an amnio because of some questionable test results and the doctors said they could do the DNA test at that time and the baby was mine." Randy replied.

"And you've never heard anything? Do you know what happened from the amnio?" She asked nervously.

Randy shook his head, "No, and I never tried to either."

"So you have a child out there somewhere?" She asked as she tried to wrap her head around this concept.

Randy looked down and nodded, "Yeah, I do. Somewhere, I don't know where. I have never heard a peep from Alison nor have I ever run into her."

Miranda put her head in her hands. She didn't know what to think. "Oh my God Randy."

He rushed to her and held her, "Carebear, I'm sorry. I should have told you by now, I just…I don't think about it. It's out of my hands and there's nothing I can do about it. I'm sorry. I was careful, I don't know what happened."

Miranda's head was going in a million different directions. She was pissed he didn't tell her, she was upset that he never followed through to find out what happened, and a part of her couldn't help but wonder if the child had ever been adopted or if was floating through the foster care system or if the mother even gave the baby up for adoption at all. She didn't say anything, she couldn't say anything.

"Miranda, please. Say something." Randy begged nervously.

She looked at him, "I don't know what to say. There's nothing for me to say. When were you going to tell me?"

He shook his head, "I…I don't know. I wasn't going to hide it from you, I just wasn't sure when to bring it up. What are you thinking? What do you think of me?" He asked.

"This might sound incredibly stupid, but I think you should know one way or another just happened with that child." Miranda finally said.

Randy did a double-take, "What?"

Miranda stood up, "Randy, you could have a child out there that doesn't have a home. Not all babies get adopted. Doesn't that bother you? How can you move forward with me and what if we had a child? They'd have a long-lost sibling out there somewhere. What if they met and became friends or lovers? Or, what if that child has a medical condition that could end their life without bone marrow or something?"

Randy shook his head, "I…I don't know. I try not to think about it. I mean, I do from time to time, but there's nothing I can do about it. I signed all of my rights away, I don't exist anymore."

"I want you to seriously think about this. Seriously consider at least reaching out to find out if she kept the baby or whatever happened. Just for closure's sake." Miranda replied as she stood up. "I can't tell you what to do, it's not my child. But, that's what I would do." And she walked into the bathroom and shut the door.

Randy sat down. He hated to admit it, but she did bring up some valid points. He never thought about it that way. He always assumed it was done and over with and it was out of his hands. But Miranda had a way of putting things into perspective. It was the least he could do, to show Miranda he was going to be a man about it.

When Miranda walked out, her eyes were red and puffy. Randy felt bad, it sure didn't take long for him to make her cry again. He felt like such an ass. He went over and held her, "I'm so sorry Carebear."

Miranda shook her head, "I can't be mad, I mean, this happened after we were divorced. It's the same as if I had had a child. I'm sorry, I don't mean to try and tell you what to do. If you don't want to know, that's your call. I'm not going to tell you what to do." She wiped her eyes and shook out her hair, "SO, let's order the pizza."

Randy kissed her cheek and nodded. They walked into the kitchen and ordered the pizza. As Miranda went to change into her lounging clothes, Randy took out his cell phone and scrolled through his contacts….there was Alison's phone number. He stared at it for a minute, he was a bit nervous what that call would bring.

**Uh-oh…trouble in paradise…What do you think? Should he call? What will he find out? Where is that baby? PLEASE read and review!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Thank you for your reviews! I love knowing your reactions!**

Miranda text Kim as she changed into her comfy, lounging clothes. She sent over the whole situation.

Kim quickly responded, "OMG…what's the girl's last name? I can look her up."

Miranda replied, "I don't know. I didn't want to seem too nosy."

"Fuck that, go ask him." Kim replied with a smiley face.

Miranda went back downstairs. Randy had his phone in his hand, but he had an uncertain look on his face. Miranda felt a little bad, so she walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm sorry I stirred all of this up."

Randy held her, "It's ok. I should have been more proactive about this a long time ago, but I panicked. It sounds shitty, but I was fresh out of rehab, I was working on proving to Vince that I changed and then this happened and I just did what seemed right at the time. I just worry what the answer will be. I just…I just don't know what to think. What if she does have the baby and her dad wasn't lying when he said the child was mine? Then what? Do I see where she stands? Do I just walk away? What if she doesn't have the child and the child hasn't been adopted yet? Or if it has? My parents don't even know about all of this."

Miranda nodded and squeezed him, "We'll get through this. At least finding out where she stands and what happened with the child will answer most of the questions. And I'm right here to help."

"Should I call her? Or go over to her house?" Randy asked Miranda. He needed her insight.

Miranda shrugged, "That's up to you. She's an adult now, so she might not live with her dad anymore. Or, even the same phone number…So I guess either /or would work."

Just as Randy was about to try calling her, the doorbell rang. The pizza had arrived. "I'll grab this, you do that." Miranda said grabbing her purse.

Randy sighed, scrolled to her name and hit call. After three rings, it went to voicemail. Just as he was about to begin talking, his other line beeped and it was Alison.

He clicked over, "Hello?"

"Umm…hi. I missed a call from this number." The bubbly voice on the other end said in a rushed tone.

Randy paused, "Alison, it's me. Randy. Do you remember me?"

Alison stopped in her tracks. "Randy? How did you get my number?"

"It's still the same number. I just quit calling when your dad threatened to throw me in jail." Randy replied.

"Oh yeah…that…Sorry, I'm on my way to class. What did you need?"

"Well…I was wondering if you could tell me whatever happened." Randy said nervously. Miranda tried not to be too nosy, but she was listening.

Alison sighed, "Look, do you really want to do this? You've moved on, you're living your life. Why are you bothering now?"

"Because I know I should have done more, but I panicked and just went along with what your father said."

"What do you mean what my father said?" Alison asked harshly.

"When your dad came to my house telling me you were pregnant and a minor and that if I didn't sign over rights and walk away he'd send me to jail. I freaked out and when you had your amnio done your dad called me, I went to the clinic, gave them my name, gave my sample, then I got the letter saying the DNA test showed I was the father, and later that afternoon I had a message from your dad saying he had a meeting arranged with our lawyers so I could sign over the rights so you could give the baby up for adoption." Randy recounted. How could he forget?

"You've got to be frickin' kidding me. He told me that you told him you wanted nothing to do with me. Once you knew I lied about my age, you knew I was jailbait and wanted to know what it would take to be let off the hook. He said that you changed your number, you didn't want to be bothered, you had no time for a liar or a baby and you wanted nothing to do with either one of us." Alison replied angrily. "So I never bothered trying to contact you. You had made your decision. So, why are you calling me now?"

"Because I know I screwed up. This isn't something that I don't think about, but I usually don't let myself dwell on it. I just, I just want to know whatever happened." Randy replied.

"Well, the amnio came back that the baby was fine. Dad died when I was six-months along. I told myself that I was going to graduate and go onto med school like I promised him. I know I disappointed him. I knew I screwed up with you. I'm so sorry that I lied. I had to move back in with my mom and step-dad. By talking to her, I decided to keep the baby and with mom's help, still graduate high school and go on to college." Alison confessed.

"So, you're raising the baby?" Randy replied shocked.

"Yup. She's my little princess. She is the reason I get up in the morning, go to class, then go to work and come home to her. I have my own little place on the back-end of Mom and Steve's land." Alison said. "What are you thinking?"

"I…I don't know what to think." Randy stammered. He had a child out there…a little girl. "Umm…I…"

"Randy, I know things got horribly screwed up. And I'm running horribly late, so I don't mean to rush, but if I miss class, mom won't watch her anymore. Her name is Shelby Lynn and she's two and a half. She's a bright little girl with your eyes and your smirks. If you want, I'll send you a couple pictures on your phone. Then, you tell me what you want. If you want to be in her life, we'll work something out. I'm not going to keep her from you even though you signed your rights away. Dad manipulated that not you. But, if you don't, then don't contact me again. I'm not playing games with her. You're in or you're out. I've gotta run. I'll send the pics in a couple minutes." And she hung up.

Randy set his phone down absolutely shell-shocked. Miranda looked over at him. She had been busy with the pizza man so she missed part of his conversation. "What happened?"

Randy's phone chimed. When he looked, it was the pictures Alison had promised. He brought them up, and couldn't believe his eyes. There was a brunette, blue-eyed little girl with his smile and dimples that lit up the room. She had Alison's nose. He turned his phone around to Miranda, "Meet Shelby Lynn." He said quietly.

Miranda took the phone from him and looked at the picture. She fought back the tears. When they had been married, they tried and tried to get pregnant, but it never worked. Which is why the paternity suit was the last straw.

"Oh my God Randy…she looks just like you." Was all Miranda could say.

Randy could tell just by the look on her face that she was thinking about their own infertility struggles. He could have given her anything in the world, except a baby. He didn't know what to say. Where do you start?

"What did she say?" Miranda asked trying to hide her tears.

"She said that it was my choice if I wanted to be a part of her life or not. Her dad lied to both of us about what was going on. He told her I chose to run. And you already know what he told me. Her dad passed away when she was six-months along. She moved back home with her mom and step-dad and decided to raise the baby. So she goes to college, works and raises her. But this is it. If I want in, then we'll work something out. But if I don't, then I'm not to contact her ever again."

Miranda nodded and tried to process everything she was just told. "What are you going to do?"

"What do you want me to do?" Randy questioned back.

"Oh no. Don't put that on me. This is your child, your decision. I might not always be here, but she will. You look into your heart and tell me, what do you want to do. You already know that I might not be able to have kids. I'm only on birth control for two reasons. One, because I never wanted to have a child with Chris and two because my cycle is so messed up, it helps to make it regulate it."

Randy nodded. "Well, I think…if Alison is raising her, then I should be a part of her life also." He finally said. "But, I want you to be a part of her life too. You're moving in, we're working on us, that means you'll be her step-mom. Are you ok with that?"

Miranda took a deep breath. This might just be the closest thing to having a child she might ever have…at least if her and Randy worked out. She nodded, "Yes."

Randy text Alison back and asked her to call him when she could talk more.

The two sat down and ate pizza and watched Smackdown. There wasn't much talking. Both of them had way too much on their minds.

When Smackdown was over, Randy looked at Miranda, "Why didn't we ever try harder to have kids?"

"Because you were always gone, and you said you didn't want a kid brought up the way you were. Then you started using drugs and cheating so I stopped pushing the issue." Miranda replied as she got up and started cleaning up their dishes.

"Well, would you consider it now?" He asked as he got up to help her. "I mean, not today but sometime."

She smiled, "If you stay on track, stay clean and not ever cheat on me again, I would do anything to bring have our baby. But…on the flip side of that, would you ever adopt? Or want us to use a surrogate?"

Randy pondered for a minute, he never gave it much thought. "Yeah…I think I would. If we could be as involved as possible. But I would want it to be a closed adoption if it was the adoption route, and if it was the surrogate route, then I would want papers stating she couldn't change her mind."

Miranda continued cleaning, "You do realize that we're going to need a bigger house, right?"

Randy thought about it, "You're right. We don't have enough bedrooms. I mean, I figured you would go back to using your office, I have mine, then there's our bedroom and that's it. Damn…we need to go house hunting."

As Miranda began to do dishes, she realized she was still wearing her old wedding ring. She glanced over and saw Randy was still wearing his. Once she finished, she dried off her hands and took one last look at it on her finger. She slipped it off and walked out to where Randy was sitting.

She sat down on the arm of the chair and handed it to him.

Randy looked at it and looked up at her, "You know, I know we're not there, but it's still a kick in the stomach having you hand me back this ring."

Miranda nodded, "I'm sure. But, I don't want to wear that ring. That ring symbolizes where we were in the past. I much prefer where we are now."

Randy smiled and kissed her sweetly. He slipped his ring off of his finger. "I'll put these away. Although, maybe we should think about getting some new ones."

She looked at him with a confused look, "What do you mean?"

"Well, you're moving in, we're going to be house shopping, we're going to be meeting my daughter, we've talked about trying to get pregnant ourselves. I guess the next logical step is to just go ahead and get us new rings." Randy replied with a smirk.

"Are you trying to just waltz back in and shoot for the sun, moon AND the stars?" She asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Randy stood up and scooped her up, "Maybe I am….it's just something to think about as we get ready to go to the Bahamas with our best friends."

Miranda squealed, "Put me down, you're going to throw out your back!"

"I'm going back to work in two weeks, if I can't lift you, how the hell am I gonna wrestle someone who weighs a helluva lot more than you?" He replied in a cocky tone as he set her down.

Miranda began to tickle Randy and the two were laughing and tickling and rolling around. When the doorbell rang.

She looked at Randy, "Expecting someone?"

"Ha…funny. Maybe it's for you?" He replied getting up and walking to the door. "It's probably Nathan."

When he opened the door, he stopped. There before him was Alison. A very hot young woman. "Hi Randy! I hope I didn't wake you up, but I was on my way home from school and thought I'd stop by."

"Wow, Alison, hi." Randy stammered. Alison looked almost the exact same except now she was a little curvier. She still had beautiful green eyes, light brown hair with blonde highlights. She was probably up to a size 5 now compared to the size 1 she used to be. "Come on in."

Miranda peeked and wanted to crawl in a hole. Not only did Randy now have a baby and a baby mama, but the baby mama was HOT! Alison seemed to have the right curves in all the right places, plus the youthful "I'm not even 21 yet" appearance.

Alison sat right down and in a very bubbly tone said, "I think we should do this slowly. I don't want to overwhelm her. So, maybe you could meet up with me when I'm out at the park or wherever with her the first few times. Or you could come over to the house? That way she sees you at her house first, and gets used to coming to your house."

Randy nodded, "That sounds fine. I'll be in town until next Friday. Then my…girlfriend…fiancée…ex-wife and I are going out of town with some friends. Then when we get back, I'll be going back on the road."

Alison's eyes opened wide, "Are you back together with Miranda?"

Randy smiled and nodded, "Yeah I am."

Alison leaned over and hugged him, "That's great! I'm really happy for you. I remember how much you said you still loved her and that's why you wanted to go slow."

Randy nodded. Miranda was shocked. When Randy was starting to date Alison, he had told her that he was still in love with her. Wow. Hearing Randy's voice calling her name snapped her out of her thought bubble.

Miranda took a deep breath and walked out to meet Alison. Alison reminded Miranda of Reese Witherspoon's character in "Legally Blonde" because that's what she was like. Happy, bubbly, perky, skinny and curvy. Miranda smiled and held out her hand, "Hi, I'm Miranda. It's nice to meet you."

Alison shook her hand, "It's nice to meet you too. I'm SO happy for the two of you."

Miranda smiled and nodded, "Thanks." She replied in a voice that showed only a hint of excitement.

As Miranda sat back and listened to Alison tell Randy about little Shelby Lynn and show off pictures, she watched Randy. Would Randy realize that he could have that family unit with Alison that she might not be able to give him? Miranda gushed over Shelby a bit and then excused herself to go upstairs. She downed two bottles of water, took a handful of pills and cranked out 200 crunches.

By the time Randy and Alison had established everything, he headed upstairs and found Miranda on the treadmill in their bedroom with her iPod on.

"Hey, can we talk?" Randy asked.

Miranda turned off the everything and sat down on the bed by him, "What's up?"

"I didn't mean for you to feel left out down there." He started to say when she interrupted him.

"I didn't feel left out. I just thought the two of you needed some one-on-one time, so I came up here and started walking. What did you guys set up?"

"Tomorrow I'm going to go over there in the morning and meet her Mom and Step-dad so they can see that I'm not a bad guy. Then while I'm there, I'll be introduced to Shelby. Then Sunday before we potluck, I'll go over there again and hang out for awhile. Then Monday while you're at work, if everything goes well, I'll have Shelby over here while Alison is in class. Then when you get home from work, you'll get to meet Shelby. We'll bring her over to Alison's mom's on our way to mom and dad's for dinner. And that is when we'll tell them about her. And from there we'll figure out the rest of the week. Does that sound ok with you?" Randy explained. He asked carefully because he didn't want Miranda to feel left out."

Miranda nodded, "Yeah…that's fine. I have to say, Alison is very pretty."

Randy nodded, "Yeah, a pretty liar. I'm just damn lucky. But, I still think that you're the most beautiful woman in the world. And the only woman I want to be with for the rest of my life." He kissed her sweetly. "And I want to make love to you, right now."

She smiled beneath his kisses, "Right now?"

He nodded as he continued to kiss her. Then he laid her down and made love to her.

**What do you think about all of this? Is Miranda right to worry? Is Alison going to push Miranda over the edge? PLEASE read and review!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Thank you for the wonderful feedback! Ctinaisfashion, I tried to get this done last night, but I couldn't quite figure out what I wanted to happen. LOL!**

The next morning, Miranda woke up and went to curl into Randy, but couldn't find him. When she opened her eyes, he wasn't in bed next to her. The first thought that crossed her mind was Randy had already gotten up and left the house to go be with Alison and meet his daughter.

She laid back into the pillows and covered her head with the blanket. What was she thinking? That he was serious when he was talking about them getting new rings and/or getting remarried and having a baby?

While she was busy wallowing in her own self-doubt, she didn't even hear Randy sneak into the bedroom with a tray. He set the tray on the floor and sat down on the bed next to her and began to rub the lump under the blanket.

"Carebear…" He cooed. "Wake up babe, there's a surprise for you…"

Miranda uncovered her head and looked at him, "What are you doing here?"

"Waking you up." Randy reached down and picked up the tray and set in in her lap. "By making you breakfast in bed. I want you to know that I really appreciate everything you've done and I really appreciate you standing by me as I wade through all of this." He leaned over and kissed her, "I love you Carebear."

Miranda was so touched. This was completely unlike Randy, but she wouldn't trade it for anything. She smiled and kissed him back, "I love you too Randy, this is really amazing."

Randy lifted the cover and showed her, he had made her a ham, cheese and mushroom omelet with hashbrowns, toast, orange juice and coffee with her favorite creamer. "Babe, you didn't seriously think I was just going to walk out on you this morning, did you?"

"This is so great Randy, thank you. And if we're being completely honest, I did a little bit."

He looked at her concerned, "Babe, just because a pretty girl is coming around, that doesn't mean I'm going to throw this all away."

"She's not just the pretty girl coming around, she's the pretty ex-girlfriend that had your baby." Miranda shot back. "How do I compete with that?"

Randy shook his head, "Compete? What the hell are you talking about? Maybe I didn't make this completely clear to you…I love YOU…and only you. I don't want you to compete with Alison, you already win, hands down. You're really starting to worry me."

"What do you mean? How can you say that? Look me in the eye and tell me that you don't hear all of the comments that are made when someone meets you and realizes you're with me. Remember, I'm the fattie Randy Orton is with."

Randy slammed his hand on the bed, "Dammit Miranda, I don't give a flying fuck what those idiots are saying. I'll look you in the eye and tell you a thousand times. Where is this coming from? What's with all of the anxiety? I love you the way you are. You know why? Because you're the most beautiful girl in the world to me. How many times do you need me to tell you this? Is this why you've been working out like crazy?"

Miranda slammed her hand on the bed in response, "Dammit Randy, I'm head over heels in love with you again and that scares the shit out of me. I see the girls you keep company with. They're all beautiful and skinny and I can't help but compare myself to them."

"But you have something that they'll never have…my heart." Randy said sincerely. "Miranda, I would do whatever it takes to prove that my eyes are only for you. I know I cheated on you before, but I'm not the same guy. I'm clean and sober, my head is on straight, and you're the only one for me. I don't want anyone else, I don't think about anyone else, yeah I might eyeball a girl once and awhile, but I have a dick, I can't help it. I would never even consider saying anything other than hi. I know I have hot chicks around me all the time…but I don't think about them. The only one I think about is you. You're worrying me. Are you going to be able to be with me without freaking out like this? What's it going to take? Getting married? Quitting your job and going on the road with me? Do you think that I don't worry about you? What if you find some guy who is home all the time? I don't want your insecurities to slowly drive you insane. Honestly…where's the Miranda I know? She was confident and smart and didn't care what others thought. This isn't like you."

Miranda sat there stunned…she was speechless. She never took his feelings into account. She didn't want him thinking she was a complete headcase. "Oh Randy, I love you. I trust you. I just…I worry. But that's it. I believe in your love. I know you're here…and you're here because you want to be. I don't know…I guess I just let everything get out of hand."

"What have you been taking?" Randy asked her pointblank.

Miranda hung her head and shrugged her shoulders. "I…I don't know. I bought a bunch of stuff at the drug store yesterday. I'm supposed to take them two to three times a day."

"Where are they?" Randy asked.

She pointed to her workout bag, "They're in there."

"You start eating." Randy said going to the bag. He looked at the different bottles. "Did you take these all at the same time?"

Miranda nodded slowly.

"Do you realize that if you kept this up, your heart would give out? You can't just take a bunch of shit because it looks good. These all contain a lot of the same things, you're basically overdosing everytime you take these together. You may have already caused damage that you don't know about."

Miranda's eyes opened wide, "Are you serious?"

"Trust me, I know what I'm talking about. John is a health freak. He's taught me about supplements. We should take you in and have your heart checked. Just to make sure the rhythm isn't off." Randy said in a "don't argue with me" tone.

"You can't, you have your meeting with Shelby this morning."

"This needs to come first. Alison will understand." Randy replied as he grabbed a bag. "Did you take these this morning?"

Miranda shook her head, "No, I haven't been out of bed yet. And I only took them twice yesterday." She tried to argue.

"I don't care. I want to make sure you're ok. Finish your breakfast." Randy said to her. "Then get dressed. I'm going to call Alison."

Once Randy walked out of the room, Miranda sat back. She just about lost him…did she really let her nervousness become an obsession? What was her problem? She finished her breakfast and threw on a pair of baggy sweats and a sweatshirt. She walked downstairs and found Randy in the kitchen.

"Hey, I'm ready."

Randy turned around, "Ok, let's go."

"Was Alison ok?"

"Yeah…she said if we want, we can stop over there when we're done." Randy replied. "We both think we over thought it a bit too much last night. She's only two, I'm pretty sure we're good."

Miranda grabbed her purse and walked out with Randy. Randy looked over at her, "Hey, I know your car is having some issues, and now that you're moving back in, you should have your car back also." And he handed her the old keyring that held her old house key and car keys on it.

"Are you sure?" She asked taking them from him.

"Yes, I most definitely am. That is YOUR car. I don't drive it. Hell, it probably still has your perfume in it!" He replied with a laugh.

They arrived at the hospital and headed into the emergency room. After checking in, they waited in the waiting room for her name to be called.

Miranda was engrossed in an article when a nurse walked out, "Miranda Orton?"

She shot Randy a look. Randy caught it, "What? I couldn't resist. I'll wait out here."

She walked back with the nurse. Two hours later, she walked out and found Randy dozed off in the waiting room chair. "Hey, I have to make an appointment Monday with my primary care doctor. Some of my blood work looks funny to them, so they want it drawn again and to have a consult with him."

Randy looked nervous, "How funny? What kind of funny?"

Miranda shook her head, "I don't know. She didn't elaborate. All she said was don't be too alarmed, and to follow up on Monday."

Randy grumbled about the lack of information as he stood up. "Do you feel ok? Do you want to meet Shelby with me?"

She smiled, "I'd be honored."

"Alright, let's go to Alison's." Randy said taking her hand. And together they walked out.

When they got to Alison's, Randy squeezed Miranda's hand, "I'm nervous." He confessed.

She smiled, "You'll do great. Remember, she's only two, she's not too hard to impress. It's Alison's mom and step-dad you should be worried about."

"Gee…thanks."

Alison opened the door in a pair of jeans and a little t-shirt. "Hi! Miranda, are you doing ok?"

Miranda nodded, "Yeah I am, thanks. Sorry about all of that."

Alison shook her head, "Not to worry! Things happen! Come on in. Mom, Randy and Miranda are here!"

Alison's mom walked into the living room, "Hi, I'm Cheryl. It's nice to meet you guys." She said as she shook their hands. She was thankful that she had looked Randy up on the internet with Alison last night because she was prepared with all of his tattoos and intimidating appearance.

"Thank you for allowing this. I know this hasn't been the most conventional situation, but I really appreciate the opportunity to step-up now." Randy replied as she shook her hand.

"Well, I understand that there were a lot of issues in the beginning, and I can't change the past, so I'm not going to go there. But, going forward we'll have to see how everything goes." Cheryl replied trying not to sound judgmental. "Most importantly, we have this beautiful little ray of sunshine in our lives. And she needs to come first."

Randy, Miranda and Alison nodded. Randy cleared his throat, "I want to also start paying child support. I have no problem being fully responsible for…my daughter." The words sounded foreign to him. But he wanted to do the right thing.

Cheryl brought Steve inside and the 5 of them all sat down and worked out visitation and child support, and a few little details. She also talked to Miranda about being a step-mom. After all was said and done, she looked over at Alison, "Do you want to have Darlene bring Shelby up?"

Alison got up and bounced over to the basement stairs. A few minutes later, another gorgeous girl appeared carrying the cutest little girl EVER. Shelby had her hair in little pigtails and had on a very cute little pink dress.

Shelby instantly looked nervous when she saw the room full of people. Cheryl got Alison's camera and began to take pictures.

Randy got down on the floor and smiled, "Hi Shelby!"

Alison looked at Shelby who was peeking at Randy, but wasn't too sure. "Baby girl, this is your daddy. Can you go give your daddy a big hug?"

Shelby looked a little nervous, but then wiggled down and walked to Randy and gave him a hug. "Hi."

Randy smiled and hugged her. He tickled her a little, and then motioned for Miranda to come down.

Miranda kneeled down beside Randy, "This is Miranda. Can you say Miranda?"

Shelby grinned, "Manda."

Everyone laughed. In no time at all Shelby had warmed up to Randy and Miranda, and had taken them to her room to see her toys and downstairs to the toy room.

They spent an hour down in the toy room playing with her. Alison had gone upstairs to get some homework done. The bonding that was going on was incredible! Miranda loved seeing this side of Randy.

Alison came back downstairs, "How's it going?"

"Really great." Randy replied.

"Do you want to take her for the day?" Alison offered. "She seems like she's really warmed up to you guys."

Randy looked over at Miranda. Miranda shrugged her shoulders, "We didn't have anything going on."

"Do you mind if I take her to mom and dad's?" Randy asked.

Alison laughed, "I trust you. I'll pack her diaper bag, and if you could have her home no later than five, that would be great."

Randy looked at Shelby, "Wanna go bye-bye?"

"Bye-Bye!" She repeated excitedly.

Alison packed up her diaper bag and got her extra car seat out of her mom's car. Then they got it strapped into Randy's Hummer and soon they were on their way to Bob and Elaine's house.

**Well…how will the next week go? What's wrong with Miranda's blood work? Friday is the day they leave on their vacation with Kim and Neil…Please read and review!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Thank you for your patience, sorry no update before the weekend but I had a TON of stuff going on, so only one story got updated. Hope everyone has had a good day! **

They pulled into Bob and Elaine's driveway, and got Shelby out of her car seat. Randy walked in the house, "Mom, Dad! We're here. And we have someone we want you to meet."

Elaine walked out of the kitchen, "You're dad's working in the garage…" She started to say before she stopped in her tracks. The little girl looked almost exactly like Randy did when he was little, "Oh my word…who is this little princess?"

Miranda took a step back, this was a discussion for Randy to have with his parents. Randy cleared his throat, "Well, this little princess is my daughter Shelby. Shelby, this is your Grandma Elaine."

"DAUGHTER!" Elaine exclaimed. She looked to Miranda, but she wasn't looking back at her, "Randal, I'm getting your father from the garage and you're going to explain."

As she started to turn, Shelby shyly said, "Gama Ewain."

Elaine's heart melted. She smiled and turned back and crouched down to her, "Yes honey?"

"Firfy." Shelby said softly.

"You're thirsty? I can get you something to drink. We'll let Daddy go get Grandpa Bob." Elaine replied looking at Randy.

Randy nodded, "Miranda has her sippy cup in the diaper bag." And he walked outside to get his dad from the garage."

As Miranda walked into the kitchen and handed Elaine the cup, She looked at her, "Did you know about her?"

Miranda bit her bottom lip, "It's not really my story to tell, but no I didn't. And it's a long story."

Elaine opened the fridge, "Sweetheart, do you want milk or juice?"

Shelby walked over to the fridge and pointed to the milk, "Milk pwese."

They both giggled and Elaine filled her cup and handed it back to her. She took her to where the toys were for when Becky's kids came over.

Randy and Bob walked into the house, "Now what in the hell is going on." Bob said to Randy as they walked into the kitchen.

Randy sat them both down at the table. Miranda excused herself to go and keep an eye on Shelby.

He explained the whole story from beginning to end. Bob looked at him, "Son, why is it whenever you screw up, you try to hide it for as long as possible? Then when it's way too late, you finally say something?"

Randy shook his head, "I don't know. Because I had just straightened everything out and I didn't want to mess that up."

Elaine looked at him, "What does Miranda think? I'm sure she's pretty torn since you guys struggled with infertility for so long."

"She was pretty shocked. But, she said that it happened when we were divorced, it's not like I cheated on her and Shelby came along. It could have happened to either of us. But Miranda gets along with her pretty well. Today's our first time meeting Shelby. If this goes well, maybe we'll be able to bring her to the barbecue tomorrow. Then Becky and her family and Nathan could meet her. Shelby's the same age as Bobby."

"Are you guys taking her to meet Miranda's parents?" Bob asked.

Randy nodded, "Yeah, she text them a forewarning though."

"So what's the deal with her mama? She's currently going to college and working?" Elaine asked.

"Yeah, she's going to school to get her prerequisites done. She wants to be a pediatrician, but it's hard work. So the child support that I'll pay will help that she won't have to work as much and have more time to spend with Shelby and to do her homework. Plus I'll have regular visitation also."

They all sat and discussed the situation in detail. Miranda walked in and squeezed Randy's shoulder, "She's stinky. Do you want me to change her, or do you want to?"

"Let's both do it." Randy replied with a smile.

Miranda looked surprised, "Um…ok?"

Miranda grabbed the diaper bag as Randy chased her around a bit. Finally she scooped her up and laid her down on the changing pad Miranda had laid down.

Miranda laughed, "Do you know what you're doing?"

Randy scoffed, "I have a niece and a nephew, of course I know how to change diapers. What about you Miss Only Child, do you know how to change diapers?"

"I've baby-sat since I was in fifth grade, of course I know how to change a diaper." Miranda teased right back. Then she playfully stuck her tongue out at him.

Bob and Elaine watched from the kitchen as Randy opened the diaper and cried out in horror. "Oh my God, that's just not right!"

Miranda laughed, "Now make sure you get it out of every little nook and cranny so she doesn't get a diaper rash."

Randy wiped her down, but then Miranda did a follow up and cleaned out a few spots he had missed. Then Randy slipped the fresh diaper on her and Miranda did the fastening. Randy slid her pants back on and patted her on the butt.

Shelby giggled and went back to the toys. Randy handed the toxic diaper bag to his mom to throw away. "Oh, did I tell you guys that Miranda's moving back in with me?"

Both Bob and Elaine were pleasantly surprised. They hugged Miranda congratulations and playfully teased Randy not to chase her away this time. "Gosh, before we know it, you guys will be re-married and working on starting your own family again." Bob said patting Miranda on the back.

Elaine sighed, she knew how hard it was on Miranda when they couldn't get pregnant. She also knew why they stopped trying. With Randy's issues, it wasn't the right time to have a baby.

Miranda laughed, "Well, let's not put the cart in front of the horse. One thing at a time. Besides, the next time we try to start a family, it'll have to be with insemination or in-vitro fertilization and there's no guarantee with either, so Randy and I will have to figure all of that stuff out."

Bob gave her a hug, "Aww…forget what those stupid doctors say. God will give you a baby when it's the right time."

Miranda smiled and hugged him back. She wasn't going to argue, but she knew her body. There was a very slim chance she'd ever get pregnant on her own.

They stayed and visited for a little while longer, and then headed over to Miranda's parents' house. They were very warm and welcoming just as Randy's parents had been. They also understood that it happened while they were divorced, and they accepted her with open arms.

Randy also told them about Miranda moving back in with him, and they were very excited. Miranda's parents had always looked to Randy like a son and when things got really bad, they were heartbroken not only for Miranda, but also because they were losing him too.

Finally Randy and Miranda got back to Alison's house with Shelby. Alison bounced out the front door to meet them. Miranda fought rolling her eyes really hard.

"YAY! My baby's home!" Alison squealed. "How did she do? Were there any problems? What do your parents think of her?"

Randy smiled and handed her over to Alison. "Both sets of grandparents are very excited that Shelby is a part of the family. She was great. We had a blow out diaper at Grandma and Grandpa Orton's and had some orange slices at Grandma and Grandpa Jewell's. And, only a very slight nap on the way back here."

Alison kissed Shelby and looked at Randy, "So, do you still want to take her to your potluck tomorrow?"

Randy smiled, "If it's still ok, we'd love to."

"I have a HUGE test coming up and a group of us were going to do a study group at Perkins in the late morning." Alison replied. "And, I might go out tomorrow afternoon for a girls day with my sister. I could swing by and pick her up when we're done?"

"Sure, you remember where my parents live, right?" Randy asked. "We'll be there all day, so just stop over and pick her up when you're done. Can we pick her up around 11am?"

"Sounds good, I'll let my mom know to have her ready."

Randy picked Shelby up from Alison and gave her kisses, "Daddy will see you tomorrow, ok?"

Shelby nodded her head, "Buh-bye daddy."

Alison squealed as she took her back, "It's so great that you're in her life now. I wish I could change things."

"But, if things would be different, they wouldn't be as awesome as they are right now. I'll see you tomorrow afternoon." Randy said giving her a wink. He kissed Shelby's cheek and waved to Alison and climbed in his truck and him and Miranda left.

"So she's ok with us still taking her tomorrow?" Miranda asked.

"Yup, we can pick her up at 11a.m."

Miranda leaned back, "Man, I'm pooped! She has a lot of energy. And boy are you catching on to the daddy thing real quick. You're becoming a really great dad."

Randy beamed, "You really think so?"

Miranda leaned over and kissed his cheek, "I not only think so, but I know so."

Randy turned and kissed her, "That means a lot to me babe, thank you. And thank YOU for being so great about this. It means a lot to me."

They finally got back home, and plopped down on the couch. They quickly whipped up something easy for dinner and then lounged and watched movies for the rest of the night. Sunday was going to be a fun and busy day.

MONDAY MORNING

Miranda awoke to her alarm going off. She couldn't believe it was Monday already. They had such a great weekend.

She fought the screaming voice in her head to go to work out by taking a long, hot shower. She knew that she could start working on herself the healthier way, but she wanted to let everything calm down. She had a busy day ahead of her at work and she also needed to contact her clinic and have her blood drawn again.

Randy awoke to the sound of his phone ringing. And the ringtone sounding was the alert that the WWE office was calling. He quickly answered it. By the time he hung up, he had an agenda of things to do before he could leave for vacation on Friday.

Miranda was busy at the office when Randy walked in. She looked up surprised, "What are you doing here?" She said happily.

"Well…I have good news and bad news." Randy said as he leaned on the counter.

"Bad news first." Miranda replied.

"Well…I have to be at Raw and Smackdown this week, then fly to Dallas to see Dr. Youngblood to get his official approval that I can be cleared for in-ring action." Randy said drumming on the counter.

Miranda nodded, "Ok, good news."

"We're all set to jet out of here on Friday! Neil called me and we worked out all the details." Randy replied in a happy tone.

Miranda smiled and clapped her hands excitedly, "I can't wait! And I'll just work on packing while you're gone. Maybe Kim will come over and we'll have a girl night."

"That sounds fun." Randy replied in a fake tone. "But, I've gotta head to the airport. You have your keys, right?"

Miranda nodded, "Yup, you put them on the key ring with the car keys." She said referring to the fact that she was now driving her old "married" car, the BMW.

"Alright, be careful moving. I gave Alison your number in case of an emergency and she couldn't get ahold of me, is that ok?"

Miranda nodded again, "Yup, no problem. She can call me about Shelby anytime."

"Did you call your doctor?" Randy asked in his concerned tone.

"I left a message with her nurse and asked her to call me with the first available appointment."

Randy nodded then motioned for her to come closer and he kissed her sweetly. "I love you CareBear and I'll be home either Wednesday night or Thursday morning."

Miranda nodded and kissed him one more time, "Ok love. I love you too. Be safe."

"Ain't I always?" He replied in his cocky swagger and left.

Miranda couldn't help but smile, it officially felt like the old "sober" days…and it was fantastic.

**Friday will be here before we know it! How will the vacation turn out? And how long will it take of playing phone tag with the doctor before Miranda gets some answers? Please read and review! **


	20. Chapter 20

**Thank you for reading, reviewing and enjoying! Happy Thursday everyone!** *Ok, I posted this eight hours ago, and it's not showing up. I hope it works this time!*

After she got off of work, Miranda headed to her house and packed for awhile. Then she loaded up her car with clothes and the boxes she finished and grabbed some Chinese food and arrived in Randy's driveway with just enough time to call and dish with Kim before she settled in with her food to watch Raw.

She brought her clothes in and the boxes and then dialed Kim's number.

On the second ring, Kim answered the phone, "Girl, you had better fill me in!"

Miranda told her about Randy's little girl…and her too cute mom. (heavy with scarcasm) And then told her about Randy taking her to the emergency room about the pills.

Kim nodded, "Miranda, I've never been a skinny girl, so that means you should listen to me. You're down to a size 12, that's great! But don't overdo it, seriously Randy loves you for who you are, as does the rest of us. Don't hurt yourself just to be some picture-perfect thing…be the real, lovable you."

"Aww..thanks Kim." Miranda replied with a smile, "But don't worry, I swear in the last week I've gained two pounds. Part of me wants to just say forget it and be normal like I used to be, and the other part still wants to be obsessive compulsive about working out and portion sizes."

"Ugh, don't turn into one of those." Kim began to say when Miranda quickly interjected.

"You should see Shelby's mom! She is cute, and perky and bubbly and tiny! She's had a baby and she's still a size 1."

"Miranda, you need to listen to me. What's her face might have little Shelby, and that's great. But anyone can have a baby…not everyone can have Randy's heart."

"Not everyone can have a baby." Miranda quietly mumbled as she plopped down on the couch. "You know, I was NEVER the insecure type, I was almost TOO secure before the divorce. Now, I freak out over stupid shit that I really can't control."

"Well, hindsight is biting you in the butt. Looking back, you think of the warning signs that you always overlooked before. So now you're ultra-nervous. But, if you don't keep those insecurities in check, you'll wind up driving him away. So seriously, dish up a bowl of ice cream, start unpacking and smile because you and Randy are back and better than ever." Kim replied.

Miranda nodded, "Yeah I guess you're right."

The two sat and giggled and girl-talked for a little while longer when the doorbell rang scaring the crap out of Miranda. She looked out the window and was confused, "Kim, the police are here. Let me call you back."

"What! Ok, call me back."

Miranda was only wearing baggy sweatpants and a t-shirt. Her hair was a wild mess. When she opened the door. "Umm…hi."

"Hi, I'm Officer Jacobsen and this is Officer Louis, we're looking for Mr. Randy Orton."

Miranda's heart sunk to the pit of her stomach, "He…He's not here right now. He won't be home till Wednesday or Thursday, is there something I can help you with?"

"Are you his wife?" Officer Jacobsen asked.

"No, well…it's complicated. I used to be, we got divorced, now we're back together and I'm moving in and we're discussing getting re-married." Miranda rambled. "I'm sorry, but if you'd like to come in I can try to get ahold of him."

The officer shook his head, "I'm sorry ma'am, if you're not his legal spouse, then I can't discuss anything with you. But here is my card, the next time you hear from him, please have him call me right away."

The other officer produced his card, "If he's unable to reach Officer Jacobsen, he can also attempt to reach me."

Miranda nodded and accepted the cards, "Ok, well…thank you officers." She tried to hide the fact that her knees were shaking.

They bowed their heads and left.

Miranda shut the door and her heart was racing. "What the fuck did he do now?" She asked out loud. She grabbed her cell phone and started to call him, but hung up when she got his voicemail.

The rest of the night went by slowly. She ate her Chinese food and then jogged on the treadmill until Randy finally called her.

"Hey Babe, what's up? Miss me already?" Randy replied as she picked up.

"The police were here looking for you. They wouldn't talk to me because we're not married." She spit out.

"Wait, what? The police? Were they women police officers, they could have been strippers sent as a prank from one of my dumbass friends."

"No Randy, they were real and official, they left their business cards with me and you need to call them right away." Miranda replied sternly.

"Ok, relax. I haven't done anything wrong, I don't have any outstanding tickets, I'm sure it's nothing. Anyways, what are their names and numbers?" Randy replied confused sounding. After she gave him the information, Randy quickly changed the subject to help ease her mind, "So did you bring any stuff over?"

"Some of my clothes and a few boxes of stuff. Then I ate dinner and watched Raw." She replied. "How did it feel to be back there?"

"It felt damn good. It's great being home with you, but damn I missed it." He said with a smile. "Now on to Smackdown, then to the good doc and then I'll be home. Do you want to start packing for this weekend for me?"

"Sure. I can do that."

"Any word from the doctor?" He asked.

"Nope, so I'm sure I'll hear right way in the morning." Miranda replied non-chalantly. At this point, she figured it wasn't very important if they were playing phone tag like this.

"Alright, you go to sleep. I'll text you tomorrow. I love you Care Bear."

"I love you too Randy. Good night."

TUESDAY MORNING

Miranda was busy at work, when her cell phone rang. She looked at the number and saw it was the clinic. "Hello?"

"Hi, is this Miranda?" The friendly nurse asked.

"It is."

"Hi, this is Cindy with Doctor Hachiya's office. I spoke with the doctor and she would like you to come in sometime today for the blood draw. Then we'll see where you're levels are at and we'll go from there."

Miranda nodded, "Ok, is there a particular time?"

"Nope, when you arrive just head to the lab."

Miranda acknowledged her response and hung up. She figured she'd run over and do it on lunch.

She walked into the clinic and headed right to the lab. One of the lab techs called her name. The woman smiled, "Hi! I'm Leah and I'm going to be drawing your blood. Now don't you worry about a thing, we'll figure out what's going on with your body."

Miranda looked confused, "Well, good because I have no idea."

"Well, you never know just how much junk is really packed into those diet pills, and with levels like yours, there's a few things so don't worry. We'll get this analyzed and give you a call."

Miranda looked shocked, "Levels, what do you mean? They never told me exactly why they felt my blood work was abnormal."

Leah looked nervous, "Oh! I'm sorry. I should let the doctor do the explaining." And she quickly drew two vials of blood. "There, you're all set. Either Dr. Hachiya or her nurse Cindy will give you a call."

"Yeah, ok, thanks." Miranda replied a bit frustrated. What the hell did all of that mean? She quickly tried to call Randy, but kept getting his voicemail.

When she returned to work, she walked in and found little Shelby and her Grandma in the office. Alison's mom looked like hell. "Hi Shelby!" Miranda said happily. Then she looked at Alison's mom, "Hi, I didn't know you were a patient here."

"I'm not, we need to talk." She started to say when she broke down crying.

Miranda hugged her, "Cheryl, what's wrong?"

"I can't get ahold of Randy, I'm really sorry to bother you. But I didn't know how else to find him." Cheryl replied.

Shelby toddled over to the little water fountain on the table and began splashing in it and shrieking with delight.

"He's on the road, he's filming Smackdown. What's the matter?" Miranda asked carefully.

"Steve and Alison were in an accident last night. A drunk driver ran a red light and slammed into the side of Steve's truck pushing it into a light pole. Alison was killed instantly."

"Oh my God Cheryl." Was all Miranda could get out before Cheryl broke down crying again. "They don't think Steve is going to make it through the night tonight. I don't know what to do."

Miranda held her and looked over at little Shelby. Her eyes filled with tears, now she felt like a total bitch thinking all of those horrible thoughts about Alison.

"I hate to do this, but with Steve in the hospital, I can't keep Shelby up there. We don't have any other family besides Alison's sister and she's completely devastated right now. Would you be able to take Shelby for the night?"

Miranda nodded, "Of course I can, anything to help."

"I…I need to get all of this figured out, and I'm a mess myself. Can you let Randy know?" Cheryl asked. "I need to get back to the hospital."

Miranda stood up and grabbed a piece of paper. "Here's my number. I'm staying at Randy's house, so I wrote down his address too. I can keep her for as long as you need."

Cheryl tried to smile, "Thank you. It means the world to me. I want Shelby as happy as possible. I told her what happened, but she still asks for her mommy and it breaks my heart. I just…I can't right now."

"It's ok. No problem. I'm more than happy to take her. And Randy and I each bought car seats for our vehiles, so don't worry about that. Just the diaper bag till I get to the store."

Cheryl gave Miranda her diaper bag and kissed Shelby and left quickly.

Miranda looked down at Shelby who was now soaked from the water. "Let me clean this mess up and leave a note for my boss and then we're out of here. I'll get you changed and we'll go shopping."

Shelby smiled, "Bye-bye?"

"Yup, we'll go bye-bye." Miranda quickly prepped everything she could and wrote a note and slipped it under the door for the doctor and left.

As she buckled Shelby in, her phone began to ring. It was Randy's ringtone. When she answered Randy immediately said, "What's up, you called like a hundred times?"

"We need to talk."

**Please read and review! Thanks!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Thank you for the reviews! I hope everyone has a great weekend!**

"Ok, talk. What's up?" Randy asked. "But I only have like ten minutes."

"Randy, Alison and her step-dad Steve were in a car accident. Randy, I'm sorry but Alison didn't make it." Miranda said softly so Shelby wouldn't hear it again.

"Wait a minute, what? That's impossible. She text me yesterday afternoon. What about Shelby? Is she ok?"

"Yes. Shelby is fine. The accident was last night. Cheryl was at the office with Shelby when I got back from lunch. She wanted to talk to you, but I told her you were gone. Cheryl asked if I could take Shelby for awhile because with everything going on she just can't and I told her that was fine. I took the rest of the week off."

"Oh my God" Randy replied bewildered. He couldn't believe that just like that she was gone. What was going to happen with Shelby? "Umm…let me talk to Vince. I'll see what I can do."

"Randy, I've got this. It's ok. You have your doctor's appointment to deal with tomorrow anyways. And I know this sounds harsh, but there's not really anything you can do. I told Shelby we'd go shopping, I'll take her to get stuff for her to have at our house." Miranda said reassuringly.

"I know, but I feel bad." Randy said softly. "I don't want you to think the wrong thing."

"Like what? It's fine. Nobody knew this was going to happen."

"What's going to happen with Shelby?" Randy suddenly asked. "Alison had made an appointment for us to go in so I could legally re-establish my parenting rights. And we were going to make the child support a legal thing so nobody could say anything. I don't have any legal anything right now to her."

Miranda took a deep breath, he was right. Cheryl could take her and at this point there wasn't really a whole lot Randy could do about it. "I'm pretty sure that you and Cheryl will sit down and figure this out like two grown adults."

"We need a new house like pronto if we wind up with custody of Shelby, hell we already do." Randy began to think out loud.

"Randy, relax. For now we'll turn my old office into her bedroom. I don't need much right now. I will hold off on moving stuff and just focus on getting her room squared away." Miranda said calmly. "When you get home we'll try to figure things out."

"Miranda, if we get custody…that's going to change everything." Randy replied. "What are we going to do? How will this work?"

"Randy…take a deep breath. One step at a time, we don't need to worry ourselves right this instant. Let's just take this as it comes. But, did you talk to the police?" She asked.

"Yeah, Nathan got into some shit and they wanted to question me as a possible witness. But I wasn't there and there's proof that I wasn't there so it's all good." Randy replied shaking his head. "Shit, I've gotta go. Look, I'll touchbase with Cheryl so she knows that I know and that we're willing to do whatever is needed. I'll call you in about an hour. Whatever you get for her and her room, put on the credit card I stashed in your glovebox."

Miranda nodded, "You stashed a credit card in my glovebox? Randy, if the car was stolen, that's the worst idea ever."

"Yeah, but I know you wouldn't have accepted it without a fight." He teased.

"Ok, fine. Let me put you on speaker and you can say hi to Shelby real quick." Miranda put the phone on the Bluetooth speaker, "Shelby, say hi to your daddy."

"Daddy?" She squealed.

"Hi Shelby!" Randy said happily. "Are you going shopping ?"

"Daddy! Me sopping." Shelby said as she clapped her hands. "Daddy home?"

"I'll be home in a couple days. But I'll talk to you tonight, ok princess?"

"Daddy pincess." Shelby repeated with a smile.

Miranda burst out laughing, "Yes Shelby, daddy's a princess."

"Ha Ha funny." Randy replied. "Alright ladies, I've gotta run. Love you guys, Bye!"

"Bye Daddy wuv you!" Shelby said waving to the ceiling.

"Love you too stud." Miranda said as she hung up. She couldn't help but smile. Shelby had totally brought out a different side of Randy. And it was great.

Shelby was busy playing with a toy in the backseat and gabbing to herself. Miranda smiled. She quick glanced up towards the ceiling, "Alison, we'll take good care of her. No matter what." Miranda whispered.

They arrived at the mall and Miranda put the credit card in her wallet and got Shelby and her diaper bag out of the car. Except for the quick run her and Randy did to Wal-Mart when they bought the carseats, they hadn't shopped with her before. Miranda was making a quick mental note of things they should get.

"Shelby, can you hold my hand?" Miranda said holding hers out.

Shelby smiled and took her hand.

"First thing, a stroller." Miranda said out loud. They walked in and Miranda let Shelby pick out her favorite one. Then they began their shopping excursion.

Miranda stopped in the food court and got Shelby some French fries, apple slices and milk to munch on as they shopped.

Miranda first did the essentials as Shelby was occupied with her snacks. They picked out an awesome stroller and an umbrella stroller. Along with bedding and pillows and a cute rug. Then she also picked out a dresser and a toddler bed. She also grabbed a monitor. She knew Shelby was older, but it was still nice to be able to keep an ear open. Then they headed to clothes. Miranda picked out a few outfits, socks, diapers and wipes.

Miranda called and asked her dad if he could pick up the furniture items with his truck and set them up at the house, and he was more than happy to.

From there they headed to the toy store. Shelby shrieked with excitement. Miranda was texting Randy about everything so he could have a say also. They had decided to dedicate part of the den to toys, so they picked out some fun stuff and some learning stuff. They also picked out a play kitchen with play food.

Shelby was toddling nicely next to Miranda. She found a very cute doll and grabbed it off the shelf. "Pwese?" She asked.

Miranda smiled, "Ok, you can get your dolly."

"YAY! Tank you." She said hugging Miranda tightly. She clung to that dolly through the rest of the store.

After the toy store, Miranda got her back in the stroller, did a quick run to the car to load up the bags they had accumulated already and they headed back in. They went to a couple other stores for a few things Randy wanted and by the time Shelby was getting antsy Miranda was exhausted.

By the time they got to the grocery store, Shelby was sleeping in her carseat. Miranda sighed, she hated to wake her up, but they needed groceries. So she took out the umbrella stroller and put Shelby in it with her blankie and her new dolly.

Miranda thought she had done the right thing until she got into the grocery store and realized that with the stroller she needed another set of hands for a cart. She sighed to herself. She finally settled on pushing the stroller and pulling the cart behind her.

By the time she got through the store and to the check outs, Miranda was frustrated and tired. How did mom's know how to do all of this stuff? She paid for the groceries and was thankful the store had drive-up available.

They loaded up the back seat and the front seat with the groceries since the trunk was full of all of the mall goodies and finally they were on their way home.

They pulled into the driveway and Miranda's parents were already there waiting for her. Shelby sat up, "Mommy home?"

Miranda's shoulders sunk, she didn't know what to say or how to respond. "Look, we're at daddy's house!" She said with excitement.

"YAY! Daddy house." Shelby repeated happily.

Miranda could see that Shelby had her second wind…just as Miranda was ready for a nap.

Miranda's mom got out and smiled, "Hi Shelby! How was shopping?"

Miranda looked at her, "Shelby was a very good girl. But now Miranda needs a nap."

Both her parents laughed, "Welcome to parenthood, there is no such thing as sleep anymore." Her dad added.

"Mom, will you take Shelby inside while I bring this stuff in?" Miranda asked as she handed her keys over.

"No problem. C'mon Shelby. Grandpa is going to put your room together."

Miranda was SO thankful to have her parents there to help. Parenting was a whole lot different then she had imagined. It wasn't as easy as it looked. But when Shelby smiled or giggled, it made it all worth it.

Her phone chimed, it was another text from Randy, "How's it going?" he asked.

Miranda text back, "I'm exhausted. Shelby just woke up and is playing with my mom. Dad's putting the furniture together. We finished grocery shopping and house shopping."

"Awesome. I just finished filming my promo. Now I'm headed to the airport so I can see the doc tonight and I'll be flying home as soon as I can afterwards."

Miranda smiled, "Very nice. Keep me posted. I'll send pics."

"Alright babe, I love you. Thank you for being there, I really appreciate everything you're doing." Randy text back.

"I love you too. And you're welcome." She replied.

Then she quickly finished bring everything in, put the groceries away, and plopped down on the couch. Not a few minutes later, she was fast asleep.

**Sorry it's a bit short. I'll try to post one more chapter tonight. Please read and review!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Alright, I got the kids to bed, and instead of going to bed early, I'm going to write you guys an update! I can't promise how long it'll wind up being, but enjoy!**

**Later That Evening**

Randy got out of the doctor's office and took out his cell phone. He sent a text to Miranda, "I passed! I'm on my way to the airport to find out what flights are available for me. How are my two favorite ladies doing?"

But he never got a response. Miranda had fallen asleep and by the time she woke up, Shelby was ready for dinner. So she was busy making dinner while her mom played with Shelby and her dad put furniture together.

On the way to the airport, the taxi drove past a jewlery store. He quickly sat up, "Wait, stop. We need to stop there first."

The cab driver followed the directions and brought him there. Randy ran inside and came out with a small bag. He was smiling, "Ok, we can go to the airport now."

He knew he needed to get Miranda something special. She was really bending over backwards to help him out and to be there for Shelby when she really needed someone. He knew Alison would have been smiling. He knew damn well just how amazing Miranda was. And he was bound and determined to not screw this up this time.

Randy's phone rang as they were just arriving at the airport. He looked and it was Cheryl. "Hello?"

"Hi Randy," Cheryl replied tearfully. "I'm sorry to bother you, but I wanted to touchbase with you."

"Are you ok?" Randy asked.

"Well, Steve passed away about an hour ago and I'm just trying to make sure I'm not missing anything while trying to figure all of this out." Cheryl replied as she broke down crying.

"Oh Cheryl, I'm so sorry."

"I...I know he's not suffering...but God I'm just such a mess right now. I figured we should at least talk about Shelby." Cheryl said trying to pull herself together. "Do you know when you'll be home yet?"

"I just arrived at the airport and I'll know in a few minutes." Randy replied. "Why don't I stop by your house on my way home. I'll call you and let you know when I'm landing."

Cheryl sniffled, "Ok, that sounds good. Just let me know."

"I will. I'm so sorry Cheryl." Randy said as she hung up. He felt really bad for Cheryl. Her ex-husband passes away, then a few months later her daughter and her husband die in a horrible car accident.

He found a flight and tried calling Miranda, but she still wasn't answering. So he sent her a text with his flight information. As he pondered what she was doing, his phone rang. Randy smiled when he heard her ringtone. "Hey beautiful."

Miranda smiled, "Hi babe. Sorry I've been off, but I was making dinner and then I gave Shelby a bath, and now she's watching a quiet time movie. But I need to know what we're telling Shelby about Alison. She was asking for mommy when we got done with the bath."

Randy shook his head, "I don't know yet. I talked to Cheryl and she said Steve passed away. She's a mess right now, and I told her that I'd stop over there on my way home so we can talk about Shelby. So for now I guess just try to change the subject. I know it's shitty but I don't want to say the wrong thing."

Miranda nodded. "Ok, sounds good."

"I got the pictures you sent, Shelby's room looks good. Your dad did a good job."

"Thanks Randy. I'm really happy that your doctor's appointment went so well." Miranda said. "So was Vince happy to have you back in action?"

"Yeah he is. But, they are calling my boarding so I'm going to let you go. I'll see you soon babe. I love you."

"Love you too Randy. I'll see you when you get home."

As Randy got settled in his seat, it dawned on him. He never even asked her how her doctor's appointment went. What the hell was wrong with him? He felt so bad. It was a good thing that he bought her a little surprise because he definitely owed her now.

By the time Randy arrived home after stopping in to see Cheryl, it was almost one a.m. He smiled when he saw the soft glow of the nightlight peering through the door. When he opened it a bit, he saw Shelby snugged up with her dolly in her bed. Then he walked into his bedroom and smiled again when he saw Miranda fast asleep.

He stripped down to his underwear, put the jewelry bag on the floor on his side of the bed and climbed into bed with Miranda. He snuggled in close to her and kissed her shoulder blade. "Hey babe, I'm home." He said quietly.

She groaned and turned to face him and yawned, "Hi hon."

Randy chuckled, "Wow, is someone sleepy?"

Miranda nodded, "Yes I am. I'm exhausted."

"Was she good for you?" Randy asked as he began to massage her shoulders.

"Oh yeah, she was great. Just very active and fun and giggly." Miranda replied already dozing back off.

Randy laughed. "Well, lets get some sleep and then we'll talk in the morning, ok?"

Miranda nodded and kissed him sweetly. In no time she was fast asleep again.

Randy smiled and nuzzled in to her. Soon he was sleeping too.

WEDNESDAY MORNING

There were little soft footsteps and a little body hurling herself onto Randy, "DADDY DADDY DADDY home!"

Randy caught her and laughed. "Whoa...morning princess."

Then he looked over at the clock, "Babe it's not even six o'clock in the morning."

Shelby smiled, "Up Up. Me hungee."

"Alright, alright. Can you give daddy five minutes?" Randy said rubbing his eyes.

Miranda lifted her head, "Morning baby girl."

Shelby smiled, "Me hungee."

"Alright, let's let daddy sleep and I'll make you some breakfast." Miranda said as she began to sit up.

"Carebear, I can make her breakfast." Randy tried to argue but Miranda shook her head.

"No, you sleep for a little bit longer. She's going to want you awake later." Miranda replied covering Randy back up. "Lay back down and I'll let her wake you up in a few hours." Then she looked at Shelby, "Let me grab my robe and my slippers and we'll go find breakfast."

Shelby began bouncing on the bed. Miranda laughed and snatched her off the bed and playfully threw her over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. She was smiling as she left the room.

Randy came downstairs about an hour later and he had the small box in his pocket. He wasn't wearing a shirt, only baggy sweatpants. Miranda looked up and laughed, "Well well, look who woke up."

He kissed her "Good morning babe." Then he kissed Shelby on the top of her head, "Morning princess."

Shelby giggled but didn't look away from the Disney channel.

Randy walked up by Miranda with a very cocky swagger, "Babe, is this a box in my pocket or am I just happy to see you."

Miranda laughed, "Maybe it's a bit of both. Why is there a box in your pocket?"

"Because you've been here busting your ass being a great step-mom while I've been gone and I really appreciate it. And because I was a prick and didn't even bother asking you how your appointment went."

Miranda smiled, "I have no problem being here for Shelby. Thank God she is a good spirit because I'm learning every step of the way. And don't worry, I don't have any answers yet. The chick wouldn't tell me anything."

Randy pulled out the box and kissed her. "I love you."

She kissed him back, "Love you too." She opened the box and gasped.

Inside the box was a beautiful silver diamond heart necklace that had a small ruby heart dangling in the middle. "Oh Randy, it's beautiful."

Randy smiled, "I'm glad you like it. I wanted to give you something to remind you that no matter where we are, my heart is always with you."

"Aww...Randy, fatherhood has really brought out the softie side of you."

Randy puffed out his chest, "Forget that. I don't have no soft side."

"Whatever." Miranda teased. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"Hey, before that. We need to talk. I need to get some input from you." Randy said guiding her towards the dining room.

"What's up?"

They sat down at the table. "I stopped and talked to Cheryl last night before I came home."

Miranda nodded slowly, "How's she doing?"

"She's messed up. Darlene's a mess. But, we sat down and talked about Shelby and what should be done."

Miranda sat there in suspense and barely breathing, "Ok, what did she say?"

"She wants us to talk about the possibility of us taking Shelby...full-time. Darlene's busy in her senior year of high school and Cheryl is in no shape to try to help herself and Darlene through their grief and raise a two year old. She still wants to see her and be a part of her life, but as a grandparent, not as a parent. And she feels that God brought me back to Shelby's life for a reason."

Miranda nodded slowly... "Wow Randy. How do you feel about that?"

"I was shocked, and I asked her a hundred times if she was sure and if maybe it was just the sudden shock of everything, but she said she was sure. And if you and I were ok with it, she'd have their lawyer make it legal." Randy replied. "But I told her I needed to talk to you first."

Miranda sat back, "Randy, this is something you need to figure out for you. I mean, we're talking full-time parenting. And this isn't something you say yes to and then change your mind in a few weeks."

He took her hand, "Carebear...listen to me. I know we agreed to take it slow, but here we are moving in together and joking or not, we've already thrown around the idea of eventually getting remarried. I want us in this together. I don't want to say yes, I want us to make the decision. I'm on the road a lot and that would make you a single parent a lot of the time and that's a helluva lot to ask of you. So I really want your input on this."

Miranda ran her hands through her hair and sighed. She looked over at him, "If we take her full-time, that means we have a lot to figure out. I mean, I work long days and the hours aren't always consistent. You're on the road anywhere from two to five days a week. Not counting interviews, appearances, and all of that. We tried to have a baby before and it didn't work, but our situations were different back then."

Randy looked at her, "I want you to do what makes you happy. If we took Shelby full-time, you could still work and we could find a daycare or a nanny. Or, if you wanted you could quit your job and be a stay-at-home mom. Or if you wanted, you could work part-time or work-from-home."

Miranda sat back in her chair and took a deep breath. So many things were running through her mind. About Randy, about Shelby, about what was going on with her blood work, and as shallow as it sounded even the vacation. There was just a lot that was up in the air right now.

Finally she looked over at Randy, "Randy...I..."

**Oooh...what do you think she'll say? What are you thinking? She has a lot to think about...and it not only impacted her, but Randy and Shelby's future too. So please read and review! And don't forget those damn test results at the doctor's office! My mind is running in a million directions right now. Have a great weekend and I'll try to update by Sunday!"


	23. Chapter 23

**Thank you SO much for being so wonderful! I'm glad you guys are enjoying this story so much. Hope your weekend has been great!**

Miranda looked across the table, "Randy...I...I know how important this is to you. And I know that you fully understand just how much this impacts me and us as a couple. And yes I had said that I want to move slow, but we sure haven't moved slow. I would love to be here and help with Shelby."

Randy got up and pulled her in his arms and kissed her sweetly, "I love you so much."

She kissed him back, "I love you too. And I love being a part of Shelby's life."

"How do you want to do this?" Randy asked. "I know what I would prefer, but I want you to do what you want."

"What would you prefer?" She asked.

"I think, it would be really great if we went back to how it was. You stop working, help me with my schedule and bookings and now you can take care of Shelby and go to mommy and me groups and preschool and whatnot." Randy said as he pulled her on his lap.

Miranda took a deep breath, she liked the sound of it, but she was a bit hesitant. She wanted to move slow, and if she up and quit her job that would go back to making her dependent on Randy again. And this time they weren't even re-married, but she knew that Shelby needed her right now. Miranda nodded her head, "I know, and I agree. I'll call the doc in the morning and put in my notice. I'll tell him that I can train in the new person, and maybe our parents can help out while I do that."

They kissed a few times and discussed things a little more in depth, then they went out and grabbed Shelby and snuggled on the couch together while they watched cartoons. Miranda's head was spinning, she couldn't believe just how much could change in such a short time.

Miranda was dozing on Randy's shoulder and Shelby was sitting on his lap when her cell phone rang. He grabbed it off the end table and answered it "Hello?"

"Good morning, is Miranda available?" The female voice asked.

"She's sleeping, can I take a message?"

"This is Cindy with Dr. Hachiya's office. Is this Randy?" She asked.

"Yup it is, and let me get her up, she's been waiting for your call." Randy said as he began to nudge Miranda. "Miranda, wake up. It's the doctor's office."

"What?" She asked sleepily. Then she grabbed the phone from Randy, "Hello?"

"Sorry to wake you Miranda." Cindy said nicely. "I'm calling because the doctor received your blood work back and would like to see you and run a few more tests."

"A few more tests? What's going on? What did she find?" Miranda asked nervously as she sat up.

"There's a few possibilities and I think its best if we let the doctor talk to you about them. Are you able to come in this afternoon at 4:30pm?" Cindy replied in a flat tone.

"Yeah, sure. I'll be there." Miranda replied nervously.

"Great, we'll see you tonight at 4:30." Cindy said as she hung up.

Randy looked at Miranda, "What is it? What's going on?"

Miranda looked at Randy, and he could see the worried look in her eyes, "They need to run more tests, and I have to go in at 4:30pm."

"More tests? So are you still not going to get an answer today? It's Wednesday." Randy replied a bit agitated. "Maybe we should have you see a specialist?"

"I'll see what the doctor has to say today and if it doesn't say much, then I'll go somewhere else."

Randy kissed her cheek, "Do you want me to go with you?"

Miranda shook her head, "No, if all they're going to do is tests then it's pretty pointless. Stay with Shelby, give her your attention."

"Ok, but if you need me, then you had better call me." Randy said as he kissed the tip of her nose.

Miranda settled back as she watched Shelby play with her baby doll when she suddenly sat up, "Randy, what about our vacation? We're supposed to leave Friday?"

Randy put his head back, "Oh crap. I totally didn't think about that. I just don't know if leaving Shelby for a week with our parents is wise when she just lost her mom and now she's not staying with the grandma she's used to living with."

"Let me think about this. Maybe we can come to a solution." Miranda pondered.

The day seemed to drag on SO slowly. After lunch, Randy took Shelby into the bed and took a nap with her while Miranda went back to her old place and packed up some more stuff.

That's when it dawned on her, she needed to find someone who could could be a nanny for the week. That way they weren't completely away from Shelby but yet could still have some romantic, grown-up time. But who could do it?

She text Kim, "Hey, we need to talk. I'm stressing out. Are you almost on break?"

A few minutes later her phone rang. Kim's ringtone made Mirnada smile, "Oh my God Kimmy, I need to talk to you."

"You've got me for fifteen minutes, what's up?"

"Ok, in a nutshell, We're taking full-custody of Shelby beginning immediately, I'm quitting my job to be a full-time mom and assistant, and I'm trying to find someone to play nanny for our vacation. Not to mention that my nurse called and they need to run more tests because of reasons they're still not telling me and I'm stressed the hell out." Miranda began to vent.

"Whoa...whoa...whoa. Slow down, you're going in for more tests?" Kim asked nervously. "Why?"

"They won't tell me. And I'm freaking out."

"And you're quitting your job? Kim said shocked. "Holy crap! Did he put a ring on it?"

Miranda shook her head, "No. But I am here at the old house packing. I know we're back for good, and even though I wanted to move slowly here we are jumping in head first. But, Shelby needs the stability in her life right now."

"I know he's changed. And I can feel the difference when you guys are together now compared to before. And so I am happy for you. And yes there's a whole lot going on right now, but I really think that with you and Randy what doesn't kill you makes you guys stronger. And yes, shit got out of hand last time but Randy would NEVER let anything happen this time."

"Aww...thanks Kim." Miranda replied with a smile. "You make me feel better!"

"And...what if I ask my little sister to come nanny for you? You know how much Katie likes kids. I bet she'd love Shelby. And I know I can't wait to meet her." Kim replied.

"Are you sure you're not mad? I know this was supposed to be the four of us." Miranda started to say when Kim interrupted.

"Girl, Shelby's mama just died in a horrific car accident. Now she's moving in with you guys and the last thing she needs is to suddenly lose you guys too." Kim said reassuringly. "It's fine, I promise. We just need to get you through your appointment."

"No kidding. I'm so freaking out right now. What the hell is wrong with me?" Miranda replied nervously.

"How have you been feeling?"

Miranda shrugged her shoulders, "Fine. I've been completely fine. A bit stressed out and tired, but there's been a ton of shit going on."

"Well yeah, plus you've been trying to move also." Kim said glancing at her watch. "Well, I hate to cut this short, but I've gotta go back to work. I'll talk to Katie and I'll let you know."

"Thanks girl, I appreciate it." Miranda said as she taped a box shut.

The two hung up and Miranda stayed and packed for a little while longer. Then she brought over what she could and took a quick shower before her doctor's appointment.

When she got out, Randy was standing there. "Babe, are you sure you're ok to go on your own? I can call my mom and see if they can take her?"

Miranda shook her head, "No, it's ok. You enjoy your time with your little girl. I'll be fine. All they're doing is just running more tests."

Randy nodded, "Alright. Just don't forget that if you need me, call me." And he kissed her cheek.

Miranda threw on some comfortable clothes and grabbed her purse. She went downstairs and kissed Shelby and Randy goodbye and then headed to the doctor's office.

She checked in and sat in the waiting room for what seemed like forever. Finally Nurse Cindy appeared. "Miranda?"

Miranda stood up and smiled, "Hi."

Cindy smiled warmly, "Hi Miranda. Thanks for coming in on short notice."

They did her weight and blood pressure, and then Cindy gave her a gown to put on. Finally Dr. Hachiya walked into the room, "Hi Miranda."

Miranda smiled, "Hi Dr. Hachiya. How are you?"

"I'm fine thanks, how are you?"

Miranda nodded, "I'm ok thanks."

"So, no Randy with you today?" The doctor asked.

Miranda shook her head, "No, just me." Without a missing a beat, Miranda quickly added, "Please, level with me. What's going on?"

The Doctor nodded, "Ok. Well, when you went into the e.r. your bloodwork came back showing elevated HcG levels. But some diet pills have HcG in them, so I had you go in and have your blood drawn yesterday. Your HcG levels were even higher yet. So here we are today. Knowing your infertility history, I'm a bit concerned that you may be having a molar pregnancy."

Miranda sat there stunned, "A molar pregnancy, what's that?"

"It's a genetic error that happens during the fertilization process." The doctor replied. "Basically the sperm fertilized an empty egg."

Miranda shook her head, "But I've been on birth control."

"And I looked back in your records and when you were hospitalized after you were kidnapped you were not being given your pills." The doctor said as she sat down at the computer. "So, I'm going to perform a pelvic exam and if it feels enlarged then we're going to do an ultrasound."

Miranda sat there stunned. The only person she had been sexually active with was Randy. And they've been having unprotected sex for awhile now, but she had her period. "What...what happens if I am having a molar pregnancy?"

"Then we would have to perform a d&c as if you had miscarried." The doctor replied solemnly. Then she stood up, "Go ahead and lie back and put your feet in the stirrups and we'll take a look."

Miranda laid down nervously. Now she was kind of wishing Randy was there. Her body was so horrible. First it wouldn't allow her to get pregnant, then it gives her a fake pregnancy.

The doctor felt around and pushed on her stomach a little bit. She sighed and stood up as she took her gloves off, "Well, your uterus is a bit larger than normal. So let's go ahead with the ultrasound. I'm going to go and get the machine. You can put your pants back on and your bra and we'll do an abdominal ultrasound."

As she left the room, Miranda's eyes filled with tears. She pulled her pants on and put her bra back on and laid back down on the table.

The doctor walked in and put some gel on her stomach. She began to slide the wand around on her stomach. Then the doctor gasped, "Oh!"

Miranda couldn't hold back, she began to cry.

The doctor patted her hand, "Miranda, don't cry. You'll be ok. And take a look at the heartbeat on your baby."

Miranda started to cry a little harder, then stopped. "My...what? What did you say?" She choked out.

"There's not a molar pregnancy...you're actually pregnant."

"That's impossible, I have my period." Miranda said wiping her eyes. She looked over at the monitor.

The doctor did some exploring, "Well, I don't see anything bad causing the bleeding and from this it looks like you have a viable pregnancy. Let's do a vaginal ultrasound." The doctor then switched to the vaginal wand and showed Miranda a spot on the screen, " Here's the heartbeat."

All Miranda could see was a tiny blip on the screen. "You're kidding me?"

"Now this is very early. I'd say you're about five to six weeks along."

Miranda thought in her head and then nodded. She thought to herself that five to six weeks ago would have been around the time of John and Liz's wedding.

The doctor took a few pictures and printed them off. Then they scheduled a follow-up appointment for when she was eight weeks along and then she sent Miranda on her way.

Miranda drove home in absolute shock. How was she going to tell Randy? And she was scared to death that she would begin to be happy and then she could lose the baby. Was it worth saying anything to anyone right now? She needed Randy's input.

Miranda pulled into the driveway and walked inside slowly. Shelby spotted her and went running over to her and hugged her legs, "YAY! Home!"

Miranda smiled and hugged her, "Hi sweetie! Yes I'm home. Where's daddy?"

Shelby pointed into the kitchen, "Juice."

"Oh, ok. Thanks!" Miranda said as she walked towards the kitchen.

Randy turned and saw that Miranda's eyes were puffy. "What's the matter? You've been crying." He handed Shelby her sippy cup and she happily ran off.

"Well...I...the doctor did some tests and we found what's wrong." Miranda said slowly.

"Ok, what is it? Is it bad?" Randy asked nervously.

Miranda reached inside her purse and handed him the sonogram picture. There wasn't a whole lot on the picture yet so she knew he wouldn't get it at first. "What is this?" Randy asked looking at it strangely.

"I'm pregnant."

Randy's head shot up, "You're WHAT?" He said in a shocked and somewhat angry-sounding tone.

Miranda was taken aback, "Well, they saw that when I was in the hospital I wasn't given my pill and the period that I have is actually implantation spotting."

Randy took a deep breath and shook his head, "Seriously? Right now? That's some fucked up timing."

Miranda stood ther shocked, "What?"

"Now? With Alison dying and now we have custody of Shelby and everything going on you're suddenly pregnant? That's some pretty fucked up timing." Randy said as he began to pace.

Miranda's jaw dropped, then her temper boiled, "You know what? Maybe you've suddenly forgotten but I'm INFERTILE. My body kills sperm. The fact that we tried for so long and never got pregnant and now we're suddenly blessed with a baby when they were originally thinking that my body was having something horrible happening to it OUGHT to be something somewhat happy. But apparently you don't remember or you just don't care. The way you're reacting is what's fucked up. I didn't expect you to be bouncing off the walls with happiness, but I sure as hell didn't expect this." She snatched the picture out of his hands, "Forget it. I'm going home."

Randy sighed, "Miranda, wait. I'm sorry. That came out wrong. I didn't mean to be an asshole. I'm just shocked. And to be honest, I have to ask you something that scares the hell out of me."

She dropped her shoulders, "And what's that?"

"Is the baby his?"

Miranda stopped in her tracks. She never once thought that Randy would have worried about that. She didn't know it never crossed her mind, but it didn't. She turned to face him as she shook her head no. "No, they think I'm five to six weeks pregnant. Which puts the conception date around John and Liz's wedding."

Randy walked to her and hugged her, "I'm so sorry. I just freaked out. That was the first thing I thought of was that the baby was Chris's and he'd have to be in our life forever and I didn't think before I spoke. I'm sorry. I love you and I love the fact that you're pregnant with our baby."

He rubbed her tummy as Miranda's eyes filled with tears, "Randy, I'm scared to death. I have six weeks before I'm out of what's considered the miscarriage window. I finally get pregnant and what if I lose it?"

He held her close, "Hon, I know that all we can do is the best we can do. I'm going to do everything I can to take care of you and help you with this. And I'm sure Shelby will love being a big sister. But, how about for the next six weeks, we don't tell anyone. Not parents, friends, siblings, no one."

Miranda nodded and hugged him, "So you're not mad at me?"

"God no. My first thought was that the bastard that tried to kill you left you a life-long reminder and that's what angered me. I'm sorry I got out of hand." Randy said softly as he held her and rubbed her back. "Why don't you go sit down and put your feet up and I'll make dinner."

Miranda turned and walked into the living room. She sat down on the recliner and put her feet up. She had so many emotions running through her that it was making her tired. But she still couldn't help but worry a little bit about Randy's outburst. Was he sincerely happy or was he just trying to make her feel better?

**What do you guys think? Please read and review!**


	24. Chapter 24

**Thanks you guys! Your reviews are wonderful and I appreciate the feedback! **

Once Miranda was out of the room, Randy sat down on the chair in the kitchen and put his head in his hands. He felt like he was struggling in a sea of water trying to keep his head above it. He LOVED being back together with Miranda. And he loved having Shelby in his life. But suddenly, he WAS Shelby's life. Him and Miranda were now full-time parents to a little girl who just lost her mom. Randy was just starting to figure out part-time parenting, and now it was 24/7/365 parenting. And Miranda, she was quitting her job to take care of her. Not that they couldn't put her in daycare, but there were already so many changes in her life, the last thing she needed was another one. And Randy knew that he was just about to be returning to work. Which meant there would be extra interviews and appearances; so he would already not be home much. And now Miranda finds out she's pregnant? He knew it was a miracle and he felt like a total asshole for the way he reacted, but as if there wasn't enough pressure on his shoulders already, now to add another child? They needed to find a new house, and relatively soon. They still needed to finish moving Miranda's stuff over to the house before they left for vacation on Friday. And vacation on Friday…that was two days from now. And it's not like they were leaving at night, they were leaving at 8:15a.m. with a two year old who had never been in an airport or on a plane before. That would be eventful. Not to mention that they fly in Sunday afternoon and he would be flying out Monday morning for Raw and he would be gone for 10 days before he'd be back home again. Miranda was going to be the one to take Shelby over to see Cheryl after they got back. Cheryl didn't want Shelby at the funeral no matter what anybody said or thought, so it would be an interesting visit. He knew he needed to appreciate what he had been given but right now he was feeling a bit overwhelmed.

"Daddy!" Shelby whined, snapping Randy back to attention.

"Yeah hon?"

"Nanda seeping. Shhh." Shelby said pointing to the recliner.

Randy smiled and whispered, "Ok, thanks."

Shelby ran off giggling.

Randy got up and started to prepare dinner. He figured he'd let Miranda sleep. He never should have snapped like he did…but thank God it wasn't Chris's baby. That was something he knew he wouldn't have been able to handle.

Miranda wasn't sleeping, she was just resting and texting Kim. Kim's sister Katie was able to tag along and play nanny so they could still have some grown up time too. She could hear Randy moving around in the kitchen, but she was a bit nervous to go into the kitchen. And even though she was nervous, she was bound and determined to not let things build up and drive a wedge between them. So she walked into the kitchen.

"Randy, can you promise me something?" She asked seriously, but started to laugh when Randy jumped because she startled him.

He turned and faced her, "I'll promise you anything."

"You'll never keep secrets from me and I'll never keep secrets from you. We will be open and honest whether it's good or bad and work through things." Miranda said trying to keep her composure.

Randy looked at her. He knew where this was coming from. He opened his arms to her. "Come here."

"No, I want you to be honest with me. You weren't just thinking about the baby possibly being Chris's were you?"

Randy shook his head no, "No, I panicked. I know this is a miracle, but right now it's just a really rough time. There's so much changing going on and I feel like you're going to be the one bogged down with most of it and I don't want you to become resentful with me because of it. Before we were able to take our time and ease into the new us plus one. Now we have a deadline. If we don't figure everything out by the time this baby is born, then what?"

Miranda nodded her head, "You're absolutely right. And I don't know if it makes you feel any better, but I'm scared to death. I wanted to move slow with this relationship. Moving in with you was a big leap, then Shelby came along and I was worried that you would realize that you could be a family with Alison and Shelby and change your mind about getting back together with me. Then Alison died and I felt like a complete bitch for thinking such horrible things. And now we're the full-time parents to Shelby. Life is totally changing. We've never even had a pet before because we were too busy. Now we have a two year old and a baby on the way. Granted, it's a miracle baby and I feel completely blessed but I also feel freaked out. Now I worry every little thing is going to make me lose the baby. And if I miscarry, will we ever get pregnant again? And you're right, we don't have the luxury of taking anything slow anymore. But, there's not a whole lot we can do about it."

"You're right, we have to man up. We are leaving town for a week, then I'm going to be gone for ten days. And what would have been normally not a big deal is now driving me crazy. I worry about how Shelby's going to react. I worry about how you're going to react to how Shelby reacts. We have to prep this house to sell, we have to start looking for a new house, we have to get through the next six weeks so you can breathe a little easier. Then we have to tell our parents. Who will in turn freak out and turn this into a big circus. So, let's recap." Randy said as he began to pace, "Shelby, Alison passing, new baby, need a new house, me going back on the road, you quitting work, leaving town for a week's vacation at the crappiest time ever, trying to get you moved in here by Friday, Is there anything else we should throw in?"

Miranda's eyes opened wide, "Oh my God I forgot about moving! I totally forgot."

Randy looked at her, "You want honesty?"

She nodded slowly, "I think I do…"

"I say fuck it and let's get remarried while we're on vacation. Then that's out of the way. Both of our parents are going to want us remarried before the baby is born. We're not going to have time. I'm not going to have any time off before the baby comes unless something drastic happens, and it better not happen." Randy began to rattle off, but Miranda interrupted him.

"And you think that getting remarried without them there is going to make them feel better? What happened to trying to move slow?"

"Remember, no time for moving slow. We have a deadline. And they were there the first time, that should count for something. This way it's just us, Kim and Neil and Shelby and baby "yet to be determined" there. Intimate, private, small and perfect. No stress, no panic, just what's important our love for one another and the family we were suddenly blessed with." Randy said taking her hand.

"Let me think about it. I don't know if jumping into marriage is the right thing to do right now."

Randy got a little upset, "Miranda, we've been married before. We know what marriage is all about. And now we know how to not ruin it. I'm dedicated to you, I'm clean and sober, I'm working on how to be a dad, you're working on how to be a mom, you're already a great wife. What more do we need to think about?"

"Alright, fine. I just don't want to take anything away from Kim and Neil. Remember, he's proposing to her while we're on vacation." Miranda replied shaking her head. "I just…Do you realize that our relationship is never going to be the same as it was now? We're going to be changing as people. Are you absolutely sure you want to be legally committed to me again?" Miranda asked.

"Miranda, you're amazing. I don't think that us having kids is going to change us in a negative way. So yes, I'm absolutely sure I want to be legally committed to you. I can't wait till your last name is Orton again. I can't wait till we change Shelby's last name to Orton." Randy said taking her into his arms and kissing her sweetly.

She kissed him back. Suddenly a thought popped into her head, maybe Randy wanted to hurry up and get married right away because he was secretly worried about losing her? Maybe he was a bit insecure like she was but he just did a better job of hiding it? Maybe they both just needed to take a deep breath and let love take over. Everything would be ok and life would continue on just the way it was with the only difference of a piece of paper hanging on the wall (with a different date), a ring on their finger, along with two kids and a new house eventually, right?

**Short but sweet. Next chapter is the vacation! How will their first family vacation/wedding go? Smooth sailing…or full of turbulence? Please read and review!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Thanks for being patient you guys! My little man did good at State, but he did not advance to the finals. Hope you guys have a great weekend!**

Randy and Miranda arrived at the airport with everything they needed on hand. They had Shelby in her stroller, they had everything they needed measured out in the proper size containers, they were all packed and were ready to conquer the airplane.

Randy looked at Miranda, "Ok, you packed everything we needed to keep her occupied and quiet on the plane, right?"

Miranda nodded, "Yup, I was up till God knows when making sure I had everything measured out to the airline guidelines."

"And you have her pacifier so she has something to suck on during take-off, right?" Randy asked.

"Yup. Now you have packed all of our passports and copies of the legal papers that show we are allowed to take her with us, right?" Miranda double-checked.

Randy nodded and patted his fanny-pack. "Yup."

"Did you remember the laptops and iPads and iPods?" Miranda asked.

Randy nodded, "Yup, they're all in the carry-ons. Did you remember to pack your sanity?"

"Ha Ha funny. I just know what happens when you are the ones to bring a baby who whines and cries the whole flight on board…Plus, you happen to be famous. SO, I'm trying to make sure that we don't forget anything important. Like telling our parents we're getting remarried this week."

Randy smirked, "I told you, relax. This time it's about us. We'll throw a big shindig the next time I have time off. They got to be there last time, we can even still hang up the wedding pictures from last time and we can fib that we renewed our vows, and never got divorced."

"Good Lord, do you have something in that head of yours for everything?" She quipped.

Randy leaned over and kissed her, "I sure do try."

They walked until they spotted Kim, Neil and her sister Katie. Kim smiled and waved, "And there's the happy family now."

Randy smiled and shook Neil's hand, "Dude, are you ready for an awesome week?"

Neil nodded, "I sure the hell am. What about you?"

"Most definitely." He replied.

Miranda looked at Kim and Katie, "Guys, we want you to meet Shelby. Shelby, this is Kim and Katie. Can you say hi?"

Shelby looked shyly and smiled a little, "hi."

Both girls smiled, "Hi Shelby. Are we going to go on an airplane?"

Shelby nodded, "We fly."

"That's right!" Kim said happily. Then she looked to Miranda, "Alright, the minute the plane lands, we are officially on vacation time."

"Man I can't wait." Miranda said giving Kim a hug. "Hi Katie, I really appreciate you doing this for us."

"No problem. I can't wait!" Katie said happily.

They went through the whole process and finally got onto the plane. A few people stopped Randy and asked for a picture and an autograph, but otherwise it was pretty smooth sailing.

Miranda gave Shelby her pacifier once the plane began take off, and amazingly enough she was very content with it. She only fussed a little bit. Miranda smiled at Randy, "Look, she travels well…I can tell she's your daughter."

Randy smiled, "Yup, she's got the Orton in her."

Kim turned around in her seat and looked at Miranda, "Well, did you guys get everything moved?"

Randy laughed, "Moved yes…settled, not at all."

Miranda rolled her eyes, "The house looks like total heck right now. There's furniture and boxes everywhere. So while we're on vacation, we're going to look around on the 'net for some house possibilities."

Neil looked back, "Oooh…house hunting. What fun."

"No kidding. Especially since right after vacation I'm going to be gone for ten days. We're going to be running around like crazy for the next eight months." Randy said and then stopped short.

"Oh my God…are you pregnant?" Kim exclaimed quite loudly. "Is that what's wrong?"

Miranda looked over at Randy, "And you were worried about my big mouth?" Then she turned to Kim, "Amazing but true, I'm pregnant."

"Oh my God it's a miracle! Congratulations you guys!" Kim and Neil said happily.

They both smiled and nodded. "It's a lot at once, but once we can get some of the big stressors out of the way, it won't be so bad. But we still have six weeks before I'm out of the first trimester, so we're trying to keep it quiet." Miranda said squeezing Randy's hand.

"I'll be honest. I'm kinda freaked out. But, I know that as long as we're together, we can do it." Randy said as he squeezed Miranda's hand back.

"How are you going to tell your parents you're pregnant and not married?" Kim asked.

Randy smiled, "Well….we've been tossing a few ideas around."

The rest of the flight went pretty smoothly. Shelby wound up falling asleep and by the time they landed, she was just starting to wake up.

Miranda carried Shelby and Randy grabbed the carry-ons. Then they headed to the baggage claim and grabbed their stuff.

"And…this is it. We're officially on vacation." Kim said as they walked out of the airport. The six of them located the shuttle from the hotel and quickly boarded.

After they all got their stuff unpacked and settled, they decided to take a stroll around and see the sights. It was something they could all do.

They got on a walking path and it led them to a beautiful waterfall. Without a moments hesitation, Neil dropped to one knee and romantically proposed to Kim.

Kim instantly broke down in tears and happily said yes.

They all began to cheer and clap. Even Shelby smiled and began clapping. Everyone hugged and shook hands as they congratulated the newly engaged couple.

Katie and Shelby were warming up to each other quickly, and Katie took off with Shelby so the four of them could have some adult time. They arranged to meet back at the hotel so they could go to dinner together.

Neil looked over at Randy, "SO…did you get everything set up?"

Randy smirked and nodded, "Hell yeah. It was hard as hell to get everything squared away yesterday, but I sure did."

"Sweet. Let's find you guys some rings."

Randy found a beautiful wedding set for Miranda that was beautiful, unique, not too big but not too small either. Then he also went ahead and bought a plain and simple band for himself. He had told Miranda he would take care of that.

While the girls were shopping, Miranda began to look at white, island-y looking dresses. "Kim, Randy asked me to remarry him."

"He did? What did you say?" She said in a shocked tone.

"I said yes. I know it's way faster then I planned on, but with everything going on and now the baby on the way, I think it'll be ok." Miranda replied. "Randy wants to do it while we're here. And see if you guys would stand up for us…again."

Kim smiled, "I would be glad to. Randy has really come around and I think the two of you were meant to be together."

Miranda and Kim began to look around to see what they could find. Nothing overly grabbed them, so they walked out and found the guys waiting outside for them.

They four of them headed back to the hotel. "See you in the lobby in fifteen minutes." Neil said as he waved.

Randy and Miranda began to walk towards their room, but Randy stopped her. "Hey, let's go outside for a minute."

Miranda looked confused, "Ok…"

Randy walked her outside to the beautiful garden the hotel had in their courtyard.

He took her hand, "Miranda, call it what you will, but fate has given us a second chance at happiness. I promise to give you my love, my heart, my soul and completely dedicate myself to our future together. We're beginning our family, and the rest of our lives. Miranda, will you marry me…again?" And he took the ring out of his pocket.

Miranda's eyes filled with tears as he slipped it on her finger. "Oh Randy, yes. I'll marry you. And I will also dedicate myself to our future and our family."

Randy pulled her close and kissed her lovingly.

Kim and Neil began to clap excitedly. Katie and Shelby were also there and Shelby clapped, "Yay!"

Both Randy and Miranda laughed and went to Shelby and kissed her and hugged her. "Daddy's marrying Miranda!" He said happily.

"Where did you guys come from?" Miranda asked.

"Randy told me his plan." Neil said with a smile.

Kim looked at Randy, "Are you guys going to have Shelby call Miranda mom?"

"We're going to let Shelby decide that." Miranda answered for Randy. "I think it's best if we don't push things."

"Who's ready to eat?" Neil asked.

Together they headed off to the restaurant.

All week long they had a wonderful time. They spent time separate and together. They had couples time and family time. The girls had girl time and shopping time and the guys had chill out time. Plus Miranda had gone through the hotel's entertainment director and they had an on-site wedding planner that arranged for flowers and photographers.

Randy and Miranda had made arrangements to be married in the beautiful courtyard of the hotel. The same place Randy proposed. Pictures were very important to Miranda since their families weren't going to be there for the special day.

It was finally the wedding day. The day before the last day on the vacation. Miranda and Shelby spent the night with Kim and Katie while Neil and Randy crashed together.

Shelby had woken up and Miranda smiled as she went to her playpen to get her up. "Good morning beautiful!"

Shelby smiled, "Morning. Me hungry."

"Ok, let's get changed and then we'll get something to eat." Miranda said with a smile. Today was the big day…the day she was getting married to Randy…again. She was excited, nervous and mostly at ease. But, part of her was really bummed that their families weren't going to be there to share the excitement. She knew how much this would mean to them.

Kim woke up to Miranda moving around. "Guess who's getting married today?" She teased.

"Guess who is having a sense of déjà vu…except this time there's not a room full of girls and I'm a whole lot more calm this time." Miranda replied with a laugh.

"Well, let's go eat, then Katie can work on getting Shelby ready while we get our hair done." Kim said as she got out of bed.

"I haven't showered yet. Shelby slept in."

Kim looked at the clock. "Ok, you go get in the shower. I'll take Shelby to go get her breakfast."

Miranda looked surprised, "Are you sure?"

"Yup…totally sure. Go on, Auntie Kim will take good care of Shelby."

Miranda looked at Shelby, "Ok, you be good girl while I'm in the shower, ok?"

Shelby giggled, "Ok."

Kim took Shelby downstairs to where the breakfast was served and got her a plate of her favorites. Then she text Neil. "How's Randy doing?"

Neil replied, "Making sure everything is in place the way it should be. Are you guys leaving now?"

Kim text, "NO. Miranda needed to shower. But we will be shortly."

Neil shook his head as he read her response. "You guys need to get out of here SOON. Randy will be back in about twenty minutes."

Kim sighed, "Great. We'll hurry. I'll go get her butt in gear."

"C'mon Shelby, let's go eat in our room and you can watch Disney."

"YAY Disney!" Shelby said taking Kim's hand.

They got back to the room and Katie was now awake.

"Where's Miranda?" Kim asked.

"In the shower." Katie replied.

Kim set Shelby's food down by Katie. "Here you go Shelby. I'm going to get Miranda." And she walked into the bathroom, "We're going to be late to our appointment, let's go."

Miranda turned the shower off, "Alright. I'm coming."

Kim set out Miranda's capris, and halter top. "Here's your clothes, we'll grab a bagel on our way."

Miranda shook her head, "No, I don't think eating is a good idea. I don't feel to good this morning."

"Aww….the morning sickness and pre-wedding jitters are kicking in." Kim teased.

Finally Kim got Miranda out of the room and out of the hotel. Kim made sure they left the hotel from a different door then by the courtyard like they usually did. She text Neil, "We have left the building."

Neil text back, "It's about time, Randy's only a few minutes away."

And together the girls went out. They had their hair, nails and make-up done.

Randy walked back into the room he was sharing with Neil. "Ok, we're all good."

"Did everything go ok?" Neil asked.

Randy nodded, "Yup. Everything is great and according to plan."

"Ok. The girls are just finishing up and then they'll be heading back here to get their dresses on." Neil said checking his phone.

Randy nodded, "Great, then all is even on time. Man this morning cut it close."

Neil laughed, "Hell yeah it did."

"Alright, let's get ready. We're all due in the courtyard in forty-five minutes for pictures." Randy said. He was a bit nervous, but in a good way. Randy really wanted to make this special for Miranda. She was doing so much for him, he wanted to do something nice for her. And he had a feeling that he would make that happen today.

**Please read and review! **


	26. Chapter 26

**Sorry for the lack of updates. Life is calm and back to normal again. Between my two boys, they had croup, strep, pneumonia and influenza A. But, the antibiotics are working and now if I could get my allergies to cooperate, I could update faster! LOL! Thanks for being patient! Hope you're all doing well!**

Randy and Neal got to the courtyard, and Neal was shocked. Everything Randy had been working on had come together so nicely and the place looked great.

Randy looked over at Neal, "Wow, I can't believe this is happening."

Neal smiled and slapped Randy on the back, "Believe it. You've worked hard to get here, and you're being rewarded for it."

Randy nodded, "Yeah…"

Meanwhile…

Kim looked over at Miranda as they walked to the courtyard, "Can you believe that you're here?"

Miranda shook her head, "No…I can't. I remember when we first split I kept hope alive, then the divorce finalized and I gave up on my dream of us getting back together because I figured it was NEVER going to happen. Then, there he was, outside of the bathroom at the restaurant where I was out to dinner with Christopher. And look at us now…living together, raising his daughter with a baby on the way. I got pregnant on my own without drugs! And now, we're going to get married again. All of my dreams are coming true. But I can't help but kind of miss our families. I know they were there the first time, but I still wish they were here to witness this."

Kim hugged her, "Well, I promise I'll make sure that the photographers take lots of pictures and the video will be great."

"Thanks Kim." Miranda replied with a smile.

They walked into the courtyard and Miranda's eyes locked on Randy and the smile on her face grew three feet bigger.

Randy was blown away. Miranda looked amazing. The first time around she had the massive, feminine, princess dress. This time, she was wearing a beautiful white mini-dress that had class and a bit of sexiness all at the same time. She had her beautiful dark hair curled and around her shoulders, light make-up and beautiful lip gloss.

The photographers had captured the first moment of their eyes meeting. They smiled, they were in on the surprise. "Ok happy couple, let's begin our photo session over here and we'll work our way back here to the wedding site."

Randy held his hand out to Miranda, "You look beautiful. I love you."

Miranda kissed him, "I love you too. And you look so handsome in your suit. Shelby is getting ready with Katie and they'll be down here in a few minutes."

Randy smiled, "You're amazing."

They followed the photographers. For the next little while, they took photos. Then Katie brought Shelby and they took a few family pictures.

Finally it was time to walk back to the other side of the courtyard. Randy looked at Miranda, "Ok, I have a little surprise for you. Close your eyes."

Miranda looked confused, "O K…."

He covered her eyes and guided her along with the photographers. Then they got back to where the ceremony was going to be taking place. The photographers got into place to take a picture of her response.

"Ok, open your eyes." Randy said as he uncovered them.

Miranda looked and gasped, "OH MY GOD!" She shrieked.

There sitting before her were their families. They all laughed and clapped.

Randy laughed, "Did you really think they'd ever forgive us if we eloped without them?"

The photographers took pictures of them with their families and took one really nice picture of all of them together. Shelby was having the time of her life.

Then everyone settled for the wedding was beginning. Shelby sat with Katie as the ceremony went on. The pastor began and spoke of the couples union. Then it was time for their vows.

Randy looked at Miranda, "We came together as one…but yet drifted apart. Then, I was lucky enough to find you once again. And with you, I have found a new life. May our love be as constant and unchanging as the never-ending ocean waves. There will never be a day when I awake without thinking of the love I have for you in my heart. I pledge my life, my love, and my soul to you and our family. It means the world to me that you are standing up and stepping forward to be there for my daughter and to accept her as your own as we grow and become our own family. Through sickness, health and as long as we both shall live."

Miranda smiled, "Today, we become husband and wife. Yes we've been here before, but today is a new day. Today we also become a true family. I love you and I love Shelby as if she was my very own. Today we begin a new life together…along with our new family, we also have the new life we have created. I promise to be there for you and our children always. No matter what life throws us, we have both grown and matured and I believe we are both ready to weather anything God throws our way."

People gasped as they heard Miranda mention the "new life they had created." Was she actually pregnant?

They lit the unity candle and then brought Shelby up with them. Randy took out a necklace and put it on Shelby. "This is a new beginning necklace. The hearts show that Daddy, Miranda you, and the baby are becoming a new family. Forever and always." Then he turned and put one on Miranda, and then patted his chest, "I have it tattooed on me now. This symbolizes our family."

The pastor concluded the ceremony and declared them husband and wife. Randy leaned in and kissed Miranda sweetly and everyone cheered.

After they met up with their family and everyone was buzzing. Miranda and Randy laughed and confirmed that yes they were pregnant, but it was very early and they were a bit nervous. Neal and Kim hugged them and showed them their signed marriage certificates.

The rest of the day was spent laughing and eating and enjoying drinks with their families. Kim and Neal were absolutely overjoyed with how great the wedding had turned out.

That night, Katie took Shelby so Randy and Miranda could have their wedding night be extra special. Tomorrow they flew home and Randy had to go back on the road.

Randy carried Miranda into their hotel room and kissed her passionately. "I love you Mrs. Orton."

She smiled and kissed him back, "I love you too hubby. And you shocked the hell out of me today, and that means the world to me. Now show me your tattoo."

Randy smiled and unbuttoned his shirt, on the inside of his left forearm there were four hearts interlocking. "Right here, so when I raise my arms in the ring you'll be able to spot it and know that you're always on my mind. And it's on my left arm because my left hand is where I wear my wedding ring."

Miranda kissed his tattoo and then kissed him passionately. "Love me Randy."

Randy laid her down and made love to her…made love to her…to his wife.

**Life begins now…how will it go? There's a whole lot going on right now in the Orton household…Please read and review! Thanks again for being patient!**


	27. Chapter 27

**Thanks for the great reviews! Please read and review!**

Arriving back home was just the beginning of crazy for Miranda. Upon Randy's return in the WWE, they had him booked solid. So Miranda was officially wife, mother, personal assistant, laundry attendant and all of the above.

Miranda's first task was to bring Shelby back over to Cheryl's house for her first visit since Allison's passing. She was really nervous, and wasn't quite sure how it would go. Miranda was trying to figure out how to not feel so awkward.

Miranda dressed Shelby in an adorable pink outfit and put her hair in pigtails. Shelby giggled and hugged Miranda. "Wuv you."

Miranda smiled, "I love you too honey." Then she brought her out to the car and got her buckled in and together they headed to Cheryl's house.

As they pulled into the driveway, Miranda could see that Shelby was looking out the window. "Mommy?"

Miranda took a deep breath as she put the car in park and looked at Shelby, "Honey, remember? Mommy is an angel now. This is Grandma Cheryl's house. And Auntie Darlene. Should we go inside and see them?"

Shelby smiled, "Yeah! Darwene and Gama!"

Miranda got out of the car and helped Shelby out. Shelby ran to the door where Cheryl was standing with a smile.

"Shelby sweetie!" Cheryl exclaimed. And she picked her up and held her tight.

"Hi Gama!" Shelby said happily.

Cheryl had tears in her eyes as she hugged her. "I've missed you so much honey! Darlene, she's here!"

Miranda stood back and let the reunion happen. She didn't want to interrupt.

Darlene came out and her eyes filled with tears as she hugged Shelby. "I've missed you!"

Cheryl looked at Miranda, "Hi Miranda, come on in. I'm sorry! I just got so excited."

Miranda smiled and shook her head, "No worries. I totally understand."

They all walked in and sat down. Shelby went running for her toys. Miranda began to wonder if Shelby was going to remember that she didn't live there anymore.

"So, how has it been going? How did your vacation go? Did she love the ocean?" Cheryl asked.

Miranda nodded, "It was great. And yes, she splashed and splashed to her hearts content. I took lots of pictures and they'll be ready today. Randy and I got married."

Cheryl gasped, "That's wonderful! Congratulations! I'm really happy for you guys."

Darlene looked at Miranda, "Wow! That's great!"

"Do you have any errands you need to run? We'd love to watch her for a few hours." Cheryl asked.

Miranda was a little surprised, but not completely. "Wow, that's great! Sure, I have a ton of things to get done today."

"Does she still have the same nap schedule?"

Miranda nodded, "Yes, we tried to keep things as consistent as possible."

"Wonderful, why don't you come back and pick her up after her nap and we can discuss things then." Cheryl suggested as she began to show Miranda to the door.

Miranda smiled hesitantly, "Sure…that sounds great." Then she called out to Shelby who was busy playing with Darlene, "Bye Shelby! Love you."

Shelby dropped her toys and ran to Miranda and hugged her tight. "Wuv you!"

Miranda hugged her back and kissed her forehead. "Be a good girl."

"Ok!" Shelby said happily. Then she ran back off to play with Darlene.

Miranda left. She wasn't too sure what Cheryl meant by "discussing things" but she didn't want to dwell on it too much. So she decided to use the time to get done all of her Monday errands. And she didn't want to bother Randy with it. She knew he was probably super busy.

**Meanwhile…**

Randy walked into the arena and took a deep breath. Damn it felt good to be back in an arena. He walked into the locker room and slammed the door open. "Look out boys, I'm back."

The guys laughed and shook his hand and slapped him on the back. Randy smiled and began talking and joking with his buddies.

John slapped him on the back, "BOYS….he forgot to mention that he got re-married!"

"OH!" Then the ribbing started. Randy laughed it off and joked around. But John could tell that Randy was on cloud nine.

Then Randy and John took off to the ring to warm up a bit. As they were wrestling around, Randy looked at John, "Dude…Miranda's pregnant."

John looked shocked, "WOW! Congrats! That's great! Wasn't that a huge thing last time?"

Randy nodded, "Yeah, our percentage was like….15% chance of ever getting pregnant without assistance. If not less. And for this to happen is really great. Rough timing, but I wouldn't change it."

The guys wrestled for awhile longer, and then got ready to go to the show's meeting. In the meeting Randy was warmly welcomed back. That made him feel really good also.

After the meeting was over, Randy text Miranda. "Hey wifey. How's it going?"

Miranda smiled when she heard her phone go off. She read his text and smiled, "Well…I think they're going well. Cheryl and Darlene were very happy to see Shelby. And she sent me off to run errands and when I go back to pick up, Cheryl said we'll "discuss things" so I don't know what that's about."

Randy made a confused look as he read the text, "I don't know what kind of things she'd want to discuss because I thought we worked through everything already. But, go with it. I trust you. Just, keep me posted and we'll go from there."

Miranda nodded and replied, "Sounds good. Will do."

"Love you babe." Randy text and put his phone away.

Miranda smiled, "Love you too hon."

By the time she had stopped by the chiropractor's office and checked in and finished up all of the other errands she had, Shelby's naptime was over. So she headed back to Cheryl's house to pick up her sweet little girl. Miranda smiled and smirked to herself, "My sweet little girl." She said outloud. Miranda had to admit, she had fallen hard for that little girl. Being on vacation with her really helped them bond. Plus, now with Randy back at work, Shelby was really going to grow dependent on Miranda, and she was hoping that helped them bond as well. Now that there was a baby on the way, and with the loss of her own, biological mother, she really wanted to make sure Shelby knew that Miranda would be as close to her as Alison had been.

She pulled into Cheryl's driveway and took a deep breath. It could be nothing, just a simple "How are things going? What is she calling you nowdays?" Or it could something rough.

**Please read and review! What do you think? Will Cheryl let things be, or are things going to start getting messy? **


	28. Chapter 28

**Thanks for being such wonderful readers! LOVE you guys Please read and review!**

Cheryl welcomed Miranda in and sat her down. Then she had Darlene take Shelby to play. She looked at Miranda, "I'm really sorry that I have to put you in the middle of all of this, I know you're just Randy's wife but I really need to talk you."

Miranda took a deep breath, "Just Randy's wife?" She thought to herself, "It's no problem, what's on your mind?"

"Well, I know that things were really horrible right after the accident and things were very drastic and we made some very rash decisions." Cheryl began. "And I just think that it's time for Shelby to come home now."

Miranda gasped, "What? No. Cheryl, with all due respect, Shelby is home with us. She has gotten settled and she loves being with her daddy."

"But he's not even there all the time. He's always gone. And now that you guys are married you'll be working on your own family and it's just time that Shelby came back home. This is her home." Cheryl said patting Miranda's knee.

Miranda stood up angrily shaking her head, she had tears in her eyes, "No. This is not happening. I'm sorry, but I won't let it. Not without a fight. She might be your granddaughter, but she's my step-daughter now. And she's Randy's daughter. We LOVE having her in our life and you already signed over custody and that's that."

Cheryl stood up, "I'm sorry you feel like that. I was afraid it would come to this. I've already hired a lawyer and he'll be contacting Randy's. I think it'll be best if you leave Shelby here until the trial."

"Are you kidding me? There's no way in hell she's staying here. I'm taking her home." Miranda said as she grabbed Shelby's bag. "Shelby! Let's go home!"

Darlene brought her in. "I'll miss you Shelby. And she gave her a kiss. "I love you baby girl."

Miranda grabbed her and held her.

Shelby smiled, "MOMMY!" And she hugged her tightly.

Cheryl gasped in horror, "And that's exactly why we're doing this. She needs to know who her mom was."

Miranda shook her head and walked quickly out of the house. "Say goodbye to Grandma and auntie Darlene!" She faked.

They walked with Miranda and Shelby out to the car. They both gave Shelby kisses. Miranda quickly buckled her.

Cheryl looked at Miranda, "I'm stopping at nothing until I get our little girl back in the house."

Miranda shook her head, "There's no way in hell you're getting her. She's home with us and you agreed and signed her over to us. You're not changing your mind now."

And she got into her car and drove off. As soon as she hit the road she began to cry. She cried and cried. Miranda called Randy's cell phone.

"Hey babe!" Randy answered.

Miranda couldn't even speak because she was crying so hard. Shelby was asking in the background if Miranda was ok.

Now Randy was nervous, "Miranda, talk to me. Are you ok?"

She finally caught her breath and gasped for air, "I'm coming out there." She sobbed.

Randy was confused, "Out here? Why? What's wrong? What's going on?"

Miranda finally got herself together, "Cheryl wants Shelby back…"

"What?" Randy exclaimed.

Miranda began to cry again, "She wants Shelby back. She said that she already talked to her lawyer and he's going to be in contact with yours. We can't lose her Randy. I can't take this. I love her. And she called me mommy."

Randy's heart sank, "Oh Carebear. It's ok, we'll get through this. We're not going to lose her."

"Randy, we're coming to see you." Miranda sniffled. "I…I need you."

"That's fine, you've got my schedule. Tell me when to pick you up. I love you and I love Shelby and we'll get through this." Randy said gently.

"Love you too."

Randy hung up the phone and sat down. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. Was this really happening?

Miranda drove and drove until she got there. And of course by the time she got there finally, Shelby was asleep and Randy was in the ring. Miranda walked in carrying her and found John finally. "Oh John, hey."

John hugged her and lightly smoothed over Shelby's hair, "Hey Miranda. I'm so sorry. I heard about what her Grandma is pulling and I want you to know that I am in your guys's corner. If you need someone to testify about how great of parents you guys are, Liz and I will be more than happy to stand up for you."

Miranda smiled, "Thanks , I appreciate it. I'm so overwhelmed and emotional right now. I cried off and on the whole way here, I have a killer headache."

Randy got out of the ring and walked to the back and found John talking to Miranda. "Carebear!"

Miranda tried to smile, "Oh Randy. We can't lose her, we just can't." She hugged him and then stepped back, "Ugh, you're sweaty. Go hit the showers, we'll be here."

John took Miranda and Shelby back to the green room so they could try and relax. Shelby woke up and Miranda let her run around the green room.

When Randy walked in Shelby's face lit up, "DADDY!" And she ran to him. "Missed you daddy!"

He scooped her up and kissed her, "I've missed you too princess." As he held her, it hit him. And it hit him hard. He held Shelby a little bit tighter and looked at Miranda, "We're not losing her."

Miranda smiled and went over and hugged the two of them, "No we're not. We're going to get through this as a family."

**Please read and review! This custody battle could get nasty…how bad do you think it'll go? Thanks!**


	29. Chapter 29

**Thanks for reading and reviewing you guys! Sorry for the delay in updates!**

That night, Randy and Miranda cuddled with Shelby until she fell asleep. Then they went to the other bed and snuggled.

Miranda looked at Randy, "What are we going to do?"

"Tomorrow morning I'll call my lawyer and we'll talk to him. I don't think there's anything she can do because she signed the papers." Randy replied.

Miranda smiled and hugged him. "I appreciate your positivity. My hormones surged and I just lost it."

"Carebear, it means a lot to me that you love her so much."

Miranda kissed him sweetly, "I love her as much as if I had her myself."

Randy rubbed her tummy, "And soon she'll be a big sister."

Miranda nodded and laid her head down on the pillow. "I'm so tired and I have such a bad headache."

Randy tucked her in and kissed her, "I love you Carebear, good night."

The next morning, the three of them were squeezed into a full-size bed. Shelby was tapping Miranda, "Mommy…I'm awake!" She said loudly.

Miranda opened her eyes and smiled, "Yes you are. Good morning. Let's let your daddy sleep. Go get back on your bed and I'll be right there."

Shelby nodded and climbed back on her bed. Miranda slid out from Randy's grasp and crawled into bed with Shelby. They turned on Disney and Miranda dozed off as Shelby watched tv.

Randy woke up a little later, "Morning girls."

Shelby's head popped up, "DADDY!" And she climbed off and bounced on top of Randy. "Daddy Daddy Daddy! I'm hungry!"

Miranda looked over at Randy, "Morning babe, She's been up since five thirty."

"Early bird!" Randy said tickling her.

Shelby squeaked and giggled. "Hungry hungry hungry!"

"Alright, let mommy and daddy put some clothes on and then we'll go down for breakfast." Randy said ruffling her hair. Both Randy and Miranda got up and got semi-presentable so they could go to the continental breakfast at the hotel.

"What time does your bus leave?" Miranda asked.

"Eleven." Randy replied.

"Alright, we'll be heading back home by then. I just want you to touch base with your lawyer. I need peace of mind that she can't just show up and demand her while you're gone and my hands would be tied."

Randy patted her back, "No problem babe."

The three of them walked down to the lobby and found a bunch of the superstars already down there. They were all smiling and waving at Shelby and greeting Randy and Miranda.

As they sat down, lots of people came by and introduced themselves and finally John came and sat down with them.

Shelby smiled, "Hi John."

John smiled and winked at her, "Hey Shelby."

The three adults made conversation and talked about the tour schedule. Shelby climbed all over Randy and slowly ate her breakfast.

They headed back to the hotel room and Randy put a call into his lawyer. He left a message with the paralegal to have the lawyer call back as soon as possible.

Shelby and Randy played around while Miranda took a shower. When she got out, Randy peeked his head in the door, "Hey, I left a message for the lawyer."

"Alright good. Thanks."

"Mmm…" Randy said winking at her, "You know, maybe we should find us a babysitter for an hour or so."

"Ha Ha…you're leaving soon. You'll just have to wait until next week." She replied with a smile.

"Yeah, well you need to keep your stress level down. We still have five weeks until you're out of the first trimester so we need to take good care of you." Randy said leaning and stealing a kiss.

"DADDY!" Shelby shrieked. "Dora's on!"

"Coming honey." Randy said with a smile. "Looks like a beautiful girl is summoning me."

"Go to her." Miranda laughed.

As Randy was helping Miranda and Shelby down to the car Randy's cell phone rang. He grabbed his phone and saw that it was his lawyer.

"This is Randy." He answered.

Randy listened the lawyer talk about the situation. He nodded and agreed. "Ok, so for now…uh-huh…Ok, thanks I appreciate it." And he hung up.

Miranda buckled Shelby into her car seat. "Well, what did he say?"

"He got contacted by her lawyer yesterday. They don't have much to go on, but she's saying that she wasn't mentally competent when she signed over custody of Shelby because of the loss of her ex-husband, her daughter and her husband in such a short time frame. She's also using the fact that I'm on the road so much that Shelby's not even with me most of the time, she's with you." Randy explained. "So my lawyer is going to ask for an arranged visitation schedule but she'll have to sign papers that states she will not leave the state with her without our consent."

"And if she refuses? Then what?"

Randy rubbed her shoulder, "Calm down. Bottom line is I'm the biological parent."

"But Alison had her listed as the person who would get custody if anything ever happened to her."

"And then she signed her custody rights over to me. Alison had passed away before she could update anything. The lawyer is not worried at all." Randy reassured her.

Miranda exhaled loudly. "Alright…I'll try to relax, but I'm not going to rest until I know she's ours for good and forever."

They kissed goodbye lovingly. Randy waved as they pulled away. He ran his hand over his head. He was still a bit nervous. Technically Alison HAD set it up so Cheryl would retain custody if anything happened to her, but she signed her rights over to him. He just wanted the judge to say they were permanent custodial parents and have it be done and over.

It meant so much to him that Miranda and Shelby were bonding so well. They were really becoming a family…Randy wasn't about to let anyone come in the way of that. Not now…not ever. He had come to far and worked too hard.

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